The Sewanhaka Central High School District Board of Education unanimously approved a $171.78 million budget for 2013-14 budget at last Thursday nights’ meeting that calls for the elimination of 33.6 positions districtwide, including 15.6 teaching positions.
The budget represents a 2.84 percent year-to-year increase of $4.75 million over the current budget of $167 million. The projected 2013-14 tax levy under the budget, which is subject to voter approval in May, would increase 3.23 percent year-to-year to $133.82 million from the current $129.63 million. School officials said the tax levy falls below the state-mandated tax cap.
“The issue is we still have to cut a substantial number of staff,” said Sewanhaka Superintendent of Schools Ralph Ferrie.
But Ferrie said the reductions would not result in the elimination of programs.
“Most importantly, we are going to enter another year where we have preserved the most important thing, which are the programs for the students,” Ferrie said.
The district had faced more job cuts before the state informed school officials that the district would receive $637,845 million more in state aid than the $922,155 the district had initially expected, pushing the district’s 2013-14 total to $27.81 million. The district was scheduled to receive $26.24 million in the 2012-13 school year.
“We’re pleased that it was an increase. We really didn’t know what we expected to get,” Ferrie said.
At the outset of budget deliberations, district administrators had projected the need to cut 25 teaching positions and 10 teaching assistants to cut $3.4 million in costs to comply with the state-mandated tax cap. The elimination of 15.6 teaching positions represents a projected saving of $1.38 million in salaries and benefits. A projected saving of $160,439 will be realized from eliminating three teaching assistant positions. Ten administration positions are to be eliminated for a saving of $209,861 and five clerical positions are to be cut for a saving of $250,000.
Those cuts represent the bulk of $2.58 million in cost reductions the district will make next year to remain under the tax cap.
All staff salaries will rise 2.4 percent to $98.6 million in 2013-14 from $96.2 million in the current year, school officials said. Employee benefits will rise 13.9 percent to $43.6 million from $38.2 million.
Maureen Kenney, assistant superintendent for finance and operations, has said the teachers retirement system rate would be 16.25 percent in 2013-14, a 37 percent increase over the 11.84 rate in the current school year.
In 2011, the Sewanhaka Federation of Teachers agreed to a zero salary increase in the 2011-12 school year, foregoing a 2.95 percent increase that saved the district an estimated $2.1 million and as many as 50 teaching positions. In exchange, they received a two-year extension of their existing contract through the 2013-14 year, with 1.25 percent salary increases this year and next year.
Support staff also accepted a zero-salary increase last year, with reduced increases of 1.5 percent in two succeeding years.
Administrators, including district principals and assistant principal, accepted salary cuts from flat increases of $3,000 to $1,500 last year.
A restructuring of the district’s existing English-as-a-Second-Language program is expected to yield a saving of $342,924. Reorganization of night and weekend security supervision is expected
Ferrie said he anticipated 12 teacher retirements to account for most of the teaching positions to be cut.
The Sewanhaka Central High School District estimates its per student costs at $17,800, placing it 54th among the 57 school districts in Nassau County.
The student population in the district is projected to drop by 177 students next year to 8,299 from the current enrollment of 8,474 in the five district schools, including New Hyde Park Memorial High School, Floral Park Memorial High School, Sewanhaka High School, Elmont High School and H. Frank Carey High School in Franklin Square.
Student enrollment in New Hyde Park Memorial is expected to drop by 102 students to 1,716 next year from its current level of 1,614.
