BY JESSICA TAYLOR
The North Shore school district proposed a $115.9 million budget for the 2022-23 school year on Thursday night, a $4 million increase, or 3.87 percent, from the current year.
The proposal calls for a $2,307,108 increase in the tax levy, or 2.49 percent. The increase fell just below the state-mandated cap.
Interim Superintendent Tom Dolan proposed the 2022-23 budget at a Board of Education meeting and it could be revised at meetings before the public votes on the budget on May 17. If approved, the budget will take effect July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year.
Of the $115.9 million budget, the district projects state aid to be $6,372,449, an increase of $492,675, or 4.8 percent, from the current year.
Dolan said that some challenging factors included inflation, a labor shortage, the LIPA settlement and the impact of the pandemic.
The three main topics discussed were employee benefits, instruction and lease and transportation.
The proposed employee benefits for 2022-23 would be $29,501,382, an increase of $1,926,928, or 6.99 percent, due to rises in health insurance, Social Security and Medicare. The projected staff salaries, including new positions, would amount to $66,606,965, an increase of $2.1 million, or 3.32 percent.
For the 2022-23 school year, instruction is estimated to cost $67,569,172, an increase of $1,558,070, or 2.36 percent. This section includes regular and special education.
In regard to infrastructure, Dolan spoke about a new law that was put into place stating that “all passenger vehicles sold in New York State are required to be emission-free by 2035.”
Dolan said that the district is going to swap six diesel school buses for six new electric school buses. A new electric school bus is estimated to cost $150,000 after incentives. Since the district is located near a disadvantaged community, it could possibly receive up to $200,000 in grant incentives.
Another factor would be to upgrade electric services at the bus depot and install charging stations. The estimated cost for these upgrades and charging stations would be $603,000. This project will be phased in over two years. The 2022-23 budget includes $350,000 for the infrastructure upgrade. All incentives that are received will be used to offset the installation costs.
Dolan said that all questions are welcomed and appreciated. “The goal is to have a complete budget that everybody can agree upon,” he said.
The next Board of Education meeting will take place on Thursday.
