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Voters approve 2008-09 school budget

Voters also approved a proposition to purchase six new school buses by a margin of 1153 to 523 and elected Joseph Salamone and Nancy del Prado to Mohonasen’s seven-member Board of Education. Board of Education candidate results were as follows: Joseph Salamone (984 votes), Nancy del Prado (949 votes), Thomas Flood (643 votes) and Mark Thornhill (389 votes). Joseph Salamone and Nancy del Prado will serve a three-year term effective July 1.

A balancing act
“Costs continue to rise each year, but the administration and Board of Education have worked hard to strike a balance between rising costs for taxpayers and quality education for our students,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Spring. “We’re mindful of the downturn in the economy and the rising cost of just about everything. Our goal was to develop the best bottom-line budget possible. This is the lowest tax levy in over a decade.” (See tax levy chart below)

The approved budget increases are driven by expenditures to: maintain proven programs while expanding programs, staffing and operations that address mandates and needs, and address increasing costs for health insurance and fuel, which are rising much faster than the rate of inflation.

With all of this in mind, Mohonasen proposed a budget increase that is less than what would be required if the district had to adopt a contingency budget.

And, under a contingency budget, the district would have had to cut non-contingency expenditures, such as student supplies, community use of school buildings and grounds in addition to certain equipment purchases.

2008-09 budget highlights
Mohonasen’s 2008-09 budget maintains all current programs and includes new funding for some key areas.

High School additions:

• A part-time (.6) business education teaching position to meet programmatic and enrollment needs;
• One full-time social studies and one full-time English teaching position to meet state mandates, growing enrollment and programmatic needs;
• Expansion of a social work position from .7 to full-time to meet state mandates and programmatic needs.

Middle School additions:

• One part-time (.3) computer literacy teaching position to meet programmatic and enrollment needs; and
• Expansion of the existing alternative education teaching position from half-time to full-time.

Pinewood Intermediate School:

• Expanded Academic Intervention Services in the form of after-school sessions plus addition of a teacher assistant to work with AIS math students during the school day;
• An additional third grade section to accommodate enrollment increases; and
• One part-time (.5) special education teacher to support additional special education
  students who are not assigned to collaborative classrooms (consisting of special education and regular education students).

Bradt Primary School:

• Expansion of the school counselor position from part-time (.5) to full-time;
• Reorganizing and expansion of the school’s summer program through additional screening days for kindergartners who register late and an additional three-week transition session for incoming kindergarten students;
• Addition of a part-time (.5) kindergarten position to pilot a full-day kindergarten classroom for students at risk.

Districtwide:

• A full-time academic administrator for social studies to address programmatic needs;
• A part-time (.6) English academic administrator. Currently, the district has one academic administrator for humanities (English 7-12 and K-12 social studies). Since English/Language Arts is an area of ongoing focus, the proposal splits the position in two with a .6 administrator for 6-12 English with supervision of the administrators implementing Language Arts at each elementary school;
• Possible realignment of the aquatics director position to include teaching physical education;
• A shared part-time monitor (.5) at the middle school and high school during after-school hours for enhanced safety;
• A part-time Web master position staffed through BOCES to strengthen the content and timeliness of the district’s Web site; and
• A full-time technology specialist/integrator to facilitate the rapidly changing needs of classrooms and students to prepare for the future.

Bus proposition
Mohonasen residents approved a proposition to purchase two 66-passenger school buses and four 22-passenger, wheelchair accessible school buses at a cost not to exceed $430,000. The state will pay for nearly 78 percent of that cost, reducing local taxpayers’ share to approximately $18,920 per year for five years. The cost of buying the school buses will be bonded and paid back over a five-year period.

Mohonasen is on a regular bus replacement schedule based on mileage, age of the vehicle, repair history and condition.

The bus proposition will not have any tax impact until the 2009-2010 school year. And since the district is also paying off old bus bonds, the new purchase would have a minimal increase on the district’s debt.   

Budget Links