White Plains CitizeNetReporter - School Tax Increase: Less Than $1 A Day. 02-03 Budget Hike Filleted to 7.1%

Milkman’s Matinee News, By John F. Bailey, Filed 3/7/02 2:00 AM EST: The Citizens Annual Budget Committee heard the School District’s latest version of the 02-03 budget Wednesday evening at Education House, and came away impressed at the steady drop in the school budget since its emergence in December.

Based on committee member reaction and comment on the 8.1% increase projected three weeks ago, the District has taken out an additional $1,146,508 in cuts, bringing the next year’s projected increase down to 7.1%, producing a budget of $127,125,740.

The 7.1% increase is the precise amount of increase voters approved by a 4 to 1 margin last year. Since first presented on December 5, the budget has shrunk from $132MM to the present $127.1MM, as revenue sources, needs, school aid, transportation contracts and retirements have been finalized.

More finetuning is expected before a Preliminary Proposed Budget is presented to the public, Monday, March 18th. The Final Budget is scheduled to be adopted on Monday, April 1st by the Board, followed by a Public Hearing on May 13th. The public vote on the budget will take place on Tuesday, May 21st.

Tax increase is 96 cents a day more than 01-02.

With Superintendent of Schools Saul Yanofsky, and Assistant Superintendent for Business, Richard Lasselle doing the honors, the ABC committee was told that the 7.1% budget increase could mean an 8.9% tax rate increase.

What this means for the White Plains homeowner with an average home assessment of $15,000: The homeowner would pay $351 more per year in school taxes with the 7.1% increase now planned. This $351 figure works out to 96 cents a day more over the course of a year, as the promotionally minded Marc Pollitzer put it, that's only about a "dollar a day."

This year the School Tax on a $15,000 assessment was $3,011 with STAR Exemption. In 2002-03, with a 7.1% increase, this rises to $3,362, the difference, year-to-year, $351.

Half of Latest Cut from Favorable Transportation Contract and Elimination of 9 New Positions.

Mr. Lasselle said that of the $1,146,508 in fresh cuts, $304,296 came from what he termed a better-than-expected new 5-year contract hammered out on school bus transportation reestablishing the District relationship with the White Plains Bus Company coming to approximately $5 to 6 Million, when it was projected at $6.5MM. The contract has only recently been negotiated, and he provided no further details.

Remedial teaching positions planned for the five elementary schools were eliminated because Dr. Yanofsky said the schools had not presented detailed enough plans on how the 2.5 new positions (at a cost of $175,000) would be utilized.

At the close of the meeting three members of the committee objected to this, suggesting that a least one teacher should be assigned to one school to see if an additional remedial teacher would make a difference. Yanofsky said this was a good idea and it would be looked at.

Three Computer Teaching Assistants were eliminated saving $135,000. Two full-time security assistants ($45,000)to occupy reception desks at Eastview and Highlands were eliminated because the security was being handled by staff now without a problem.

Other cuts were comprised of an additional savings from a retirement, recalculated fringe benefits and reduced equipment.

Referendum for $2.5MM to $3MM Considered for Capital Improvements

The proposal that was new this evening was Richard Lasselle’s presentation of a proposal to fund a series of urgent capital improvements to the schools by floating a $2.5MM to $3MM referendum before the voters in November. The majority sentiment of the ABC appeared to favor presenting the referendum to the voters.

Lasselle said the referendum would be used to replace the boilers at Eastview School, one of which dates back to 1927, another to the 1950s. He said it was getting very hard to find replacement parts for the old boilers. Heating modifications were also planned for Ridgeway School, Post Road School and Highlands Middle School. Ridgeway will also be scheduled to receive replacement of part of a roof section.

At Church Street School, a portion of the referendum monies would create a new bus loop and parking renovations.

Up at Highlands lockers dating from the year the school was built (1929) would be replaced.

At White Plains High School the referendum would fund replacement windows in the Pool Building, painting of interior corridors, locker renovation, and to install a Video Surveillance System. The Varsity Baseball field would undergo a raising of the field to improve its drainage at a cost of over $100,000.

Lasselle said he envisioned the referendum not affecting debt service until 2004, when at monies borrowed at a projected 4.2% interest rate, the first payment would be $125,000 with payments averaging $400,000 from 2005 to 2013.

Consequences of an Austerity Budget

Lasselle painted the grim picture of what an Austerity Budget, (which activates if the public defeats the school budget twice), would mean. According to Lasselle, if an Austerity Budget had to be adopted, the budget would have to be cut an additional $5,576,476, to $121,549,264. Lasselle said the bulk of such a cut would mean elimination of teaching positions.


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