Board Reviews Initial Budget

Board President David Brashear opened this year's budget workshop by affirming the Board of Education's continuing commitment to cost containment, even as the economy begins to improve. Superintendent David Quattrone characterized the process as "striking a balance between educational excellence and fiscal prudence." Each year that process gets harder; easier reductions have already been taken. He introduced the discussion with an overview of what Village residents get for their tax dollar - the  programs and services that make Bronxville's education program distinctive. The entire budget presentation can be found here.

Assistant Superintendent Dan Carlin followed with a budget history, the factors driving up the local obligations, and the intricacies of the tax levy cap. Key budget drivers include mandatory employer contributions to teacher retirements, health care premiums, and contractual obligations. Mandatory employer pension contributions alone have risen from 12.5% to 16.5% of payroll. In the last few months two new cost containment opportunities have materialized. The Bronxville Teachers Association proposed, and the Board approved, a retirement incentive generating about $200,000 in salary savings. In addition, the District's administrators obtained an extension of their current contract that freezes wages and postpones merit pay. These cost containment measures have been incorporated into the initial budget.

Carlin described enrollment trends, staffing history, budget drivers, and revenue sources. Board members questioned several issues closely, returning several times to the possibility of increasing revenue through user fees or facilities rentals.  Other questions concerned special education services that go beyond requirements, athletics, and the use of reserves. Board members requested more detail on various staff reduction options, including classes and co-curricular activities with low enrollments. Several Board members also expressed skepticism about locking into a twenty-five year commitment to a "pension stabilization rate."

The initial budget, based on what it would cost to run the identical range of programs and services next year, is $45,619,933, representing a 3.12% budget-to budget increase and a 3.67% tax levy increase. Because the excess costs of teacher retirement contributions are a tax cap exemption, the effective tax levy cap for Bronxville is 3.35%. It  would require reductions of approximately $100,000 to get below the cap.  As currently proposed, the budget represents a $430 increase in property taxes for the owner of a home valued at $1 million.

The next step is to develop more detailed information about the impact of various potential budget reductions and determine what approaches make the most sense. Quattrone framed the discussion by saying, "We all want to make wise judgments about how best to meet this year's specific financial pressures while also protecting the long-term health of the school system. There is more than one reasonable result, and there is more than one way to preserve excellence. Finding this year's path is the challenge over the next couple of months."