Trustees Adopt Proposed Budget
for 2014/15
Huntington School Board completed weeks of public meetings this past Monday night by adopting a proposed budget to fund district during the school year commencing July 1. Trustees voted 7-0 to adopt the financial plan. Residents will go to the polls on Tuesday, May 20 at Huntington High School from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. to vote on the 2014/15 budget.
The budget proposes spending of $117,614,370, an increase of 2.53 percent over the current year. It would increase the tax rate to an estimated $221.33 per $100 of assessed valuation or 2.31 percent. A home assessed at the district average of $3,622 would see an increase of $183.64 before any STAR program savings are applied.
The adopted budget includes the monies needed to restore a full-day kindergarten program to the district. It continues the district’s academic program intact, including funds for reading and math teachers on the elementary level and the dual language and SEARCH programs. There are appropriations for new instructional textbooks, workbooks, library books, computer hardware and software as well as equipment and tools for the facilities department.
“The budget development process seems to become more difficult each year due to restrictions imposed by the state and increasing non-discretionary costs,” Superintendent James W. Polansky said. “This year was particularly challenging as the tax levy limit fell below two percent. Nonetheless, due to careful management of expenses and collaboration with district bargaining units, we were able to develop an educationally sound and fiscally responsible budget proposal that featured the return of full-day kindergarten to the district.”
Trustees reviewed the financial plan on a line-by-line, program-by-program basis during a series of meetings in the Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School auditorium. A draft budget was released late last winter. Since then three updated plans have been issued and posted on the district’s website at www.hufsd.edu.
The adopted plan includes funds for a full complement of extracurricular activities for students in grades 5-12 as well as the monies needed for an extensive program of interscholastic athletics for grades 7-12. The district’s art and music programs are also fully funded, including specialized high school video, photography, graphic arts and fashion design courses, among many other offerings. There are allotments to cover costs associated with student government organizations, student newspapers, drama club productions and dozens of other activities.
The adopted plan includes the addition of eight teachers to move the existing kindergarten program from half-day to full-day status, as well as related teacher aides positions.
The district expects to see an increase of nearly $600,000 in state aid. However, assessed property values are budgeted to drop by another $300,000 to $44,643,315, which translates into a loss of more than $650,000 in property taxes. The adopted plan appropriates $2,049,074 from the district’s fund balance to help hold down the tax increase.
Should assessed values not fall by as much as anticipated, trustees will have the option of setting the tax rate lower than is now estimated. That would reduce any tax increase. The rate will be set in early fall during a public meeting after the district receives the final total assessment for the tax year from the town assessor’s office.
If residents fail to pass a budget for 2014/15, trustees will have to cut more than $1.6 million from the adopted budget. The reduction would almost assuredly return the kindergarten program to half-day status and reduce or eliminate many other initiatives.
A public hearing on the 2014/15 budget will be held on Monday, May 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School auditorium. The adopted budget and budget presentations made at each meeting are available as PDFs on the district website. A detailed brochure with budget and voting information will be mailed to all district homes prior to the May 20 vote.