• Legal notice for budget vote, school board election
• Property tax exemption report pdf
• Basic budget questions and answers pdf
• Budget terms defined (new page)
• Choices: The 2010-11 State Budget and the Schools from the Council of School Superintendents   
• Budget objectives for 2010-11 (this page)
• Some realities of school budgeting (this page)

Board of Education adopts budget

     At its April 13 meeting, the Board of Education unanimously adopted a budget for the 2010-11 school year that calls for an increase in local property taxes (tax levy) of $19,000 or just .49 percent. When capital project costs and building aid are factored out, total spending is down $245,935 from the current year’s $17.4 million spending plan. FULL STORY
BUDGET BROCHURE pdf
BUDGET POWER POINT PRESENTATION
 

Declining aid, rising costs force Fort Plain personnel cuts (new page)

District officials preparing for very difficult budget

       The ongoing recession and uncertainty regarding the state’s 2010 budget will make developing the upcoming school budget especially difficult.

        Below are some factors that will impact development of the Fort Plain budget.
(Note: Every $218,000 in new expense that is not balanced by new revenue or reductions elsewhere in the budget results in roughly a 1% increase in the property tax levy.)

• The state is facing a $3 billion budget deficit in 2010. State operating aid to Fort Plain may decline by about $500,000, and the value of STAR tax exemptions may decline again as well. Building aid will remain intact.

• Other non-tax revenue sources will be lower as well. Interest on investments remains low, and Medicaid reimbursements are expected to decline still further.

• School districts have been told that the federal stimulus dollars the state is currently using to pay operating aid will end in 2011, potentially creating a funding cliff. In other words, we believe that 2011-12 will be even worse than 2010-11, and the Board of Education would be irresponsible not to tackle this as at least a two-year problem.

• Required pension costs will increase by an estimated 3 percent or more in 2010-11 due to stock market losses. Energy and health insurance costs are also on the rise.

• Fort Plain has very little commercial development.

• Many families in the district are increasingly stretched financially, and state unemployment is at its highest rate in years.

Budget Objectives 2010-2011

In developing the 2010-11 budget, the Board of Education and administration will:
--- Work to spread reductions across the entire district with everyone expected to share the pain.

--- Reassure residents and staff that, even in extreme financial times, Fort Plain can still deliver a high quality education if we all agree to make sacrifices and work together to do just that.

--- Engage the community to develop solutions for areas where the district may reduce services.

--- Urge state legislators to respond to our budgetary concerns with action.

--- Work to continue and expand cooperative agreements with neighboring school districts for the sharing of services and programs.

--- Continue to apply for available grants to maintain and enhance programs

--- Solicit donations from outside sources RELATED STORY

--- Continue to maintain a spending freeze for non-essential purchases and activities.

What are the realities of school budgeting?

     REALITY #1 is that much of a school budget is “untouchable.” For example, a school district cannot cut courses that are required for graduation, eliminate services that are mandated by the state and federal governments or reduce benefits that have been negotiated as part of an employee contract. There are also some parts of the budget that are fully state aidable, such as textbooks and library books. Reducing those lines would only result in a cut in revenues and would save little or nothing for local taxpayers.

       REALITY #2 is that most of the money spent in education is on “people costs.” Every program the district offers, every service it provides, and every task it carries out on behalf of students requires people to do the actual work. That means if school districts are to cut their costs by a substantial amount, they can not avoid cutting people – which not only hurts those whose positions have been eliminated but also adds to the country’s unemployment problems.

       REALITY #3 is that some cuts look good on paper but don’t work out in practice. For example, the elimination of one teaching position can in some cases do more than just raise class sizes. In a district as small as Fort Plain, it can actually make it impossible to schedule every student into their required courses.

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