WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. January 14, 2008: The School District unveiled a “Preliminary” 2008-2009 Budget that is the largest year to year increase in 17 years.  Assistant Superintendent for Business of the White Plains City School District Fred Seiler introduced a “preliminary” school budget for 2008-2009 of $190.7 Million, $16.6 Million more than  the current year budget of $174.1 Million at last night’s first Board of Education meeting of the new year. The last year an increase this size (9.56%) was contemplated was 2001-2002 when the district adopted an 8% increase.

Fred Seiler, Assistant Superintendent of Business for the School District delivers the Preliminary Budget Monday evening.

Seiler introduced only the expense budget, and did not project possible 2008-2009 revenues. He said he anticipated less state aid than the district received last year.  

He said the major driving force was salaries and benefits up 5.26% (which includes the projected settlement with the teachers union currently begin negotiated), plus the debt service for bonding ($1.5 Million)  for the current school capital project and borrowing for certiorari tax refunds totalling approximately $7 Million.  The district also sees the need for another $3 Million in tax certiorari refunds not already covered in the next year.

The Drivers: Salaries and Health Insurance make up one third of the $16.1 Million increase. Debt for the Capital Project Fund increases $1.5 Million plus another $1.5 Million in cert bonding bringing total District Debt Service to $11 Million a Year.

Commenting on the all-important assessment roll recently announced by the city as having slightly increased as of January 1, Seiler said he expected that to drop because it usually does based on challenges to assessments.

School Taxes Could top $8,000 a Year on $700G Home.

Last year  a $9 Million budget increase (the smallest increase in ten years), yielded a $35 per $1,000 of assessed value tax increase. The jumbo $16.6  Million increase projected last night would mean a $57 dollar per thousand increase in the tax rate  (currently $474/M)  to about $531 per thousand – if the city assessed value stays at the present level of $290 Million. 

 If the assessment roll  declines, the tax rate will go up higher. This would mean a yearly tax increase for the $700,000 home of over $800 a year, bringing the school tax on the median White Plains home to about $8,000 a year – still considerably less than similar priced homes in other school districts – it should be pointed out.

Preliminary, Preliminary

Seiler stressed the figures were preliminary that the school district had not gotten their primary health insurance increase yet,  nor retirement figures (number of high salaried personnel retiring), or workman's compensation rate yet, the BOCES figures, and that he anticipated state aid to decrease – and that there might be some property tax relief cap initiated by the governor. Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors said he did not expect that the property tax cap idea advanced by the Governor would be a reality any time soon.

The Drivers

Driving the increase is $7 Million debt service taken on when the district opted to borrow to pay certiorari refunds ($4 Million), and decided to take on the $66 Million Capital Improvements project ($1.5 Million), and previous certiorari bond commitments, and the $5 Million in increased salaries and benefits.

Seiler expected the preliminary increase to drop as the district reexamined the numbers.

Preliminary Expenses Above, and closeup of right side of above sheet below. The Business Office commented they expected a lot of retirements which would drop the salaries figure below the 5.23% increase called for below.

In the previous 17 years, the average budget increase per year has been about 5%. In the last five years, the budget increase, year-to-year has been 6.4%. The budget has gone from $134.6 Million in 2003-04 to $174.1 Million in 2007-2008.  Should the budget stay on course, the school budget will breach the $200 Million level in 2009-2010.