The mood was somber at last Thursday’s meeting Herricks School Board as board members and residents contemplated the prospect of a 2011-12 budget that would cut $5.73 million from the district’s current $96.4 million budget – and require significant program cuts in the process.
“We budget very tightly in this district. We do not have cushions,” said Herricks Superintendent of School John Bierwirth. “So the cuts go into programs.”
The cuts would allow Herricks to meet Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed 2 percent cap on spending increases and would translate into a 3.75 percent or 4 percent tax levy increase.
An alternative budget that the district is referring to as a “shaved stand-pat” budget” would represent an 7.65 percent budget increase and maintain all programs, Bierwirth said. The tax levy for the “stand-pat” budget would be 2 percent to 4 percent above that 7.65 percent budget hike
Bierwirth said the district faces several built-in budget increases as it attempts to stay within the 2 percent cap including a 3.5 percent hike in teacher’s salaries,
In addition, the district’s contribution rate to the Teachers Retirement System and the Employees Retirement System will rise by one-third to 11.7 percent and 16 percent, respectively. And health insurance costs will grow by 13.75 percent to $1.6 million.
Based on Cuomo’s budget presentation last week, Bierwirth said his “best guess” is that the district will lose between $1.1 million and $1.3 million in state education aid, far higher than the $500,000 the board put in reserve last year in anticipation of a state aid shortfall.
The board had asked Bierwirth and his staff to draft two budgets for a basis of comparison. The 2 percent budget would include cuts to the district’s highly acclaimed music program, special education and sports programs, while eliminating 36 classroom teaching positions. Nine high school teachers, 6.5 middle school teachers, two music teachers (one each from the middle school and high school), and eight elementary school teachers would be eliminated, along with five teaching assistants.
John McNeur, Herricks music and performing arts director, said the high school orchestra and band ensembles would each be reduced to one large group. Overall there would be an overall from six musical instrument groups to four. Music composition would be removed from the high school curriculum. The middle school would have larger sectional section for band and orchestra, with possible combinations of the 7th and 8th grade orchestras and instrumental teachers teaching general music sections.
“It pains me greatly to contemplate disassembling any part of it,” McNeur said. In response to one resident’s question, he said the high school jazz band was “up for grabs” too.
Bierwirth said consideration had been given to start musical instrument training in fourth or fifth grade instead of third grade as is now done but he said it was felt that move “would hobble the program for a long time.”
Herricks athletic director Jim Petricca, said 7th and 8th grade boys and girls basketball and baseball teams would be scaled back to single combined 7th and 8th grade teams, while the high school would be reduced to single varsity squads.
“We’re not eliminating sports. We are eliminating teams and opportunities for the kids,” Petricca said, calling it a “very painful process.”
Special education teachers and language teachers would have greater course loads with anticipated cuts in teaching positions, which have not been targeted in terms of subject areas. That would partly depend on what student course requests.
“This is just the start of the process,” Bierwirth said.
Comments from board members and residents indicated how wrenching a process the likely reductions would prove to be.
“It’s very painful. Doing $5 million in cuts is throwing it in the trash to us,” said school board vice president Richard Buckley. “This is just not acceptable and I think we need to work together here.”
Board member Paul Grisafi concurred, adding, “It’s beyond painful. This is a different school system. This is not the Herricks school district that we see.”
Dr. Sanjay Jain echoed Buckley’s allusion to district employees considering wage freezes by observing “It would be nice to hear everybody sharing in the pain.”
In response to a question from a parent on how much a wage freeze on all salaries would represent, Helen Costigan, Herricks assistant superintendent of business, said a total freeze would mean a $3.5 million cut in costs. Asked what the percentage budget-to-budget increase would be with the corresponding 3.5 percent wage freeze, Costigan said it would be approximately 3 percent for the “stand-pat” budget that would maintain all programs.
Residents raised a litany of questions – including one Bierwirth said he could not answer on what percentage of each departmental budget was reflected in the cuts – but most of the people made comments rather than raised questions.
They deplored the cuts in the sports and music programs, the reductions of teaching positions, or simply vented on the need to face the harsh economic reality and accept the necessity of making cuts.
“I’m telling the board I don’t know if the budget is going to pass,” said Virginia Pzena. “I’m telling the teachers’ union we’re all up against it.”
