The Herricks school district’s 2016 draft budget brings new staff, programs, equipment and a sense of relief, the school board said Thursday.
A confluence of good financial circumstances allowed administrators to grow the budget by $1.1 million, or 1.1 percent, with a 0.12-percent tax levy increase after years of fiscal stress.
“It’s finally like the weight is lifted off our shoulders — relief,” school board Trustee James Gounaris said. “We can get back to doing what we do best.”
The proposed $109.3 million budget adds funds for new teachers and other staff, new and replacement technology equipment, infrastructure fixes and new programs, including an elementary robotics team and additional social-emotional learning programs, Superintendent Fino Celano said Thursday.
About 77 percent of the budget, or about $84 million, funds the district’s educational programs; 12 percent, or about $13.7 million, funds capital expenses; and about 11 percent, or about $11.7 million, funds administrative costs.
The 0.12-percent tax levy hike is a third of the 0.36-percent increase Herricks is allowed this year under the state tax cap law, Assistant Superintendent for Business Helen Costigan said.
Administrators said it’s important to limit tax hikes as much as possible because residential taxes produce the bulk of the budget in Herricks, a district with very little commercial property, Celano said.
“You’re getting a lot of bang for your buck,” he said. “You’re getting a lot for a very efficient amount of money, and that’s something we should be very proud of.”
An increase in state aid — about 10 percent of Herricks’ revenue — and a $900,000 total decrease in the amount teachers and other employees must pay into state pension systems helped put the district on steadier financial ground this year, Costigan said.
It also helped that last year’s budget contained $1.2 million in one-time expenses and that Herricks will have about 50 fewer students enrolled next year, administrators said.
“We’re in very good shape, despite the fact that our tax cap is so low,” Celano said.
The relative fiscal comfort comes after several years of tight budgets stemming from a “perfect storm” of stress that affected school districts statewide, Celano said.
The state’s gap elimination adjustment initiative, which cut school aid to patch the state budget deficit, started in 2010. It coincided with hikes in pension contributions and several “unfunded mandates,” including federal Affordable Care Act regulations, Celano said, and the tax cap added to the pressure.
The difficulties resulted in many cuts that the district started restoring last year, Costigan said.
School board Trustee Brian Hassan called the proposed budget the first he’s seen in a long time that’s “proactive instead of reactive.”
“It’s nice to see we’ve stabilized, we’ve kind of stopped the bleeding and now we’re going the other way,” Hassan said.
Costigan said the district must be careful going forward, because the good fiscal conditions may not continue.
The many one-time expenses in this year’s budget for long-lasting items is one precaution the district has taken, Celano said.
“We can’t, because this is a good year, add too many things that will end up being unsustainable,” he said.
Parent Henry Zinetti asked why administrators didn’t take advantage of the maximum allowable tax increase to further support programs with an extra $230,000.
Hassan said the budget must reflect a balance between residents who want no tax increase, those who want maximum revenue and those who think a moderate hike is a good compromise.
Budget discussions will continue through February and March and into early April before residents vote on it May 17.
Copies of the full proposed budget will be available at the Feb. 25 meeting.
