Common budget-related questions answered |
New York
state's effect on Fort Plain's 2009-10 school budget
Q. What number will you use for state aid if
the Legislature does not adopt a budget on time?
A. Generally, the district
views the Governor’s proposal as a “worst case scenario.” Because of
legal deadlines related to the district’s May 19 budget vote, the
district would hope to see the state finalize a budget plan by its
annual deadline of April 1 in order to have the most accurate state
aid figures for its budget decisions. Absent this information, the
district would likely be compelled to use the Governor’s figure in
an effort to ensure that its budget planning and decisions are as
conservative as possible.
Q. When the state adopts its budget, what happens if the district
ends up receiving more state aid than was estimated?
A. If the state budget includes additional aid for
the district, and it is adopted before the district must set its tax
rates in August, then the additional revenue could be factored in
when determining the tax rates. If the state budget is adopted after
the tax rates are set, any additional monies will be applied to the
district's fund balance.
Q. What other provisions in the Gov.’s proposal could impact the
district budget?
A. In addition to proposed
reductions in state aid, there is also a provision in Governor
Paterson’s proposed state budget that would shift more of the cost
(15 percent) of preschool special education to districts from the
state and the county—the entities that have historically borne this
cost. If approved, this change could cost the district at the least
$34,351 dollars next year.
Q. Due to the economic downturn, will there be increased state
pension (Employee Retirement System/Teacher Retirement System)
contributions required of the district?
A. State pension
contributions are largely dependent upon the health of the state
pension fund. Like the experience of many investors, it is apparent
that the economic climate has affected the pension fund. When the
fund decreases, it does lead to a need for increased contributions
from municipalities and government agencies.
State pension contributions are expected to stay relatively flat
from this year (2008-09) to next (2009-10). However, the impact of
the stock market decline could be felt in the form of increased
pension contributions beginning in 2010-11. The specific impact will
depend on the performance of financial markets over the coming
months.
General Information
Q. Why does the school budget always seem to
go up more than the rate of inflation?
A. The rate of inflation is
not a fair measure for schools, since the Consumer Price Index is
based on the rising cost of food, clothing, cars, and housing - not
on the rising costs associated with school budgets such as health
insurance, liability insurance, and retirement fund contributions.
Q. Why doesn't the school district just freeze or reduce staff
salaries to cut its costs for 2009-10?
A. While the district has the
ability to cut positions to reduce its costs, it does not have the
ability to unilaterally change the salaries of staff covered by a
negotiated agreement. The district has negotiated agreements with
its unions. These agreements are legally binding contracts that
spell out staff members' terms of employment, including salaries.
Here's an analogy. Say you want to cut your household
expenses, and you decide that your monthly cell phone bill, car
payment and mortgage payment are too high. Chances are that you
signed an agreement -- a contract -- with these companies describing
how much you would pay each month for your cell phone, car or home.
You cannot simply decide to start sending these companies smaller
monthly checks.
What you can do is contact these companies and ask if
they are willing to renegotiate your contract. But if they say no,
you must continue to pay what you promised until your contract with
them expires.
Similarly, the district cannot unilaterally start
paying its staff members a different salary from what is spelled out
in their contract.
Q. Why is the percentage increase for the total budget sometimes
different than the increase in the tax rate?
A. The increase in
total budget only looks at expenses. Tax rate is a function not only
of expenses but revenues and property assessment growth, as well. If
expenses rise but revenues remain constant or decrease, the tax rate
increase will be higher than the budget increase. Conversely, if
revenues or property assessments rise, the tax rate increase may be
lower than the budget increase.
Q. How does the district ensure it is getting the best price for the
products it purchases?
A. The district
ensures it gets the best prices for the products and services it
purchases by conducting bids, utilizing competitive quotes, and
purchasing through cooperative arrangements with BOCES or New York
State. By law, school districts are required to competitively
purchase goods and services. Annually, the district conducts formal
bids for the purchase of items such as instructional and office
supplies, musical instruments, and filters for the heating system.
In addition, the district routinely seeks competitive proposals for
various services such as auditing, student accident insurance, and
legal services.
Q. What happens if the budget is defeated?
A. Under New
York State law, if the school budget is defeated, the Board of
Education has three options: put a revised budget up for a second
vote; put the same budget up for a second vote; or move directly to
a contingency budget. Should the Board decide to present the budget
- revised or not - for another vote and it is defeated a second
time, the Board must adopt a contingency budget.
Q. How much of the budget do residents vote
on?
A. Residents
vote on the entire budget. This is a “YES” or “NO” vote on the
giving the district permission to spend the budgeted amount in the
coming fiscal year.
Q. What programs are mandated by the state?
A. The overwhelming
majority of the district’s budget goes toward meeting state and
federal mandates and requirements — everything from areas of study
to building climate issues to transportation regulations. Elementary
school mandates include instruction in math, science, technology,
English language arts, social studies, health, physical education,
art, music, and library in addition to specific topics as varied as
state history and fire prevention. Middle School students are
required, among other mandates, to have a certain amount of units of
study for English, social studies, math, technology, science,
physical education, home and career skills, the arts, library
skills, and second language. At High School, the academic mandates
differ depending on which diploma a student is pursuing.
top
Reassessment and
equalization
Q. I'm not sure I understand how the town of
Minden's reassessment will affect my school taxes. If my assessment
doubles, does that mean that my school tax bill will automatically
double, as well?
A. No. When trying to
calculate the impact of a new assessment, residents cannot simply
multiply the new assessment by the old tax rate. Calculations will
need to be done on an individual basis. How your school taxes are
impacted will depend upon your new assessment, how it compares with
all other assessments in the district and the projected new school
tax rate. Note: Any change in school taxes is a combination of an
increase in the school budget as well as a property owner's new
assessment.
Q. Does the reassessment change the total amount of taxes the school
district must collect? Will it result in a windfall of new revenue
for the school district?
A. Absolutely not. With a
reassessment comes a shift in the tax burden to those whose property
values have risen faster than average. The amount of school taxes to
be collected for 2009-10 will be the same as it would have been
without the reassessment; the reassessment merely redistributes the
total.
Q. What are equalization rates and how do they affect our taxes?
A. It is fairly
common in school districts for taxes to be collected from more than
one town. Our school district boundaries encompass all or parts of
the towns of Minden, Danube, Canajoharie, Ephratah, and Palatine.
Each town may have assessments at varying rates of market value. The
New York State Office of Real Property Services is charged with the
responsibility of determining an equalization rate for each town.
This factor, applied to the town's total assessment, creates an
assessment value that equates to full market value. The equalized
assessment values by town (not the actual assessed value of the
town) are then used to apportion the amount of the tax levy or total
amount of taxes to be collected by the school district. This process
is intended to ensure that each town is assessed their fair share of
school taxes based on the market value of the properties within the
town.
STAR Information
Q. How will the STAR program affect my school taxes?
A. All New Yorkers who
own their own homes can significantly reduce their school taxes
through a School Tax Relief (STAR) exemption, regardless of age or
income. Homeowners must apply through their town assessor's office
to be eligible for this tax break.
Q. Does the district take taxpayers' STAR savings into consideration
when developing its budget?
A. No. STAR is a tax-relief
program for homeowners and is paid for through state taxes. It is
not a new source of funding for schools, and it is not a
consideration in developing an annual budget.
top
Return to District home page
|
