Fewer than a dozen people showed up to Jackson Street School on Tuesday night to hear, and have a chance to be heard, on the proposed 2011-12 Batavia City Schools' budget.
It's a budget that would, if passed, increase the tax levy by 5.75 percent, or about $1.14 per $1,000 assessed valuation.
The $39.6 million spending plan eliminates several staff positions as the district struggles to meet the demands of shrinking state aid and growing personnel costs.
Voters will be asked to approve the budget May 17.
If voters turn out against the budget, it doesn't necessarily mean local property owners will avoid a property tax increase.
The district has two choices if the budget isn't ratified: propose a new budget for voters or pass a contingency budget.
In the case of a contingency budget, the state mandates certain budget expenses be removed -- equipment, some instructional and extra-curricular programs and public use of school buildings.
Even if those items are cut from the budget, Superintendent Margaret Puzio explained, it would only decrease the tax levy by about $100,000.
Even a contingency budget would lead to a property tax increase.
About 75 percent of the district's budget is taken up by personnel costs.
Employee benefits account for $8.8 million of the district's expenses. The state mandated employee retirement system contribution has gone up more than 16 percent, an increase of 39.6 percent over 2010-11. The district's contribution to the teacher retirement system has gone up 11.11 percent, a 28.9 percent increase over the previous budget year.
“Those are significant expenses and completely beyond the control of anybody in the district,” said Board Member Gary Stich (inset photo).
Most of the revenue for the district comes in the form of state aid, which is being cut for the fourth straight year.
In 2008-09, the district received $20.1 million in state aid. The estimated aid for 2011-12 will be $17.9 million.
In that time, state aid has decreased from 49.92 percent of the district's revenue to 46.83 percent.
The district is getting a little help from the federal government, Puzio said. It's a one-time grant of more than $500,000. The district is using that money to help offset reduced state aid.
"The good thing is it (the grant) helped us plug a little bit of the hole from that loss in state aid," Puzio said. "The bad news is, next year it will be gone. We don’t know what we’ll get in state aid next year, but we need to realize that we are already a half-million dollars down.”
The budget reduces non-instructional staff time and eliminates six non-instructional positions.
Six full-time instructional positions are eliminated, including three teacher aids.
The only audience member to speak was David DiSalvo, and he questioned the seemingly high salaries of some staff and district administrators.
Board Member Patrick Burk defended administrator salaries saying that current administrators are earning less than they might make elsewhere and that the district must offer competitive salaries in order to hire and retain the best personnel.
I'll be voting against this
I'll be voting against this budget. I do so knowing that it's not going to make that much difference in the tax increase but, just as this board received a message when the athletic field project was voted down, they need to receive another message from this vote.
Between the steady drip...drip...drip tax increases from the city and this increase, it's getting to the point where I can't afford to live here.
And it bothers me that I live and pay taxes here and most of the very highly paid administrators in the district don't.
Mr. Burk's argument regarding those salaries doesn't hold water with me. For one thing, if they are the "best", then why is the performance of the district as reported in the Business First rankings always in the bottom 25% time after time?
If they want to leave, maybe they can find a job closer to where they live.
I worked at Kodak for 37 years. In recent years, as everyone knows that company has been reducing staff due to the poor performance of the company. During that time, those of us who remained, had to pick up the slack. We were expected to do more with less.
The district needs to figure out how to do the same thing. Instead of Ms. Puzio whining about reduced state funding, how about she figures out how to make lemonade out of lemons?
We have a chance to start
We have a chance to start changing the way things are run in our school district and sending Mr. Burke and company a message.
There are two seats up for election and three people running. Two are new, Al McGinnis and Amy Barone. One is an incumbent, Mr. Guenther. This is real easy, don’t reelect the incumbent. Send a message.
I have nothing against Mr. Guenther, I don’t know him. But he has supported the excessive spending for Van Detta Stadium project (that was voted down) and the sports park at the end of North Street. Both projects would have added even more to the tax hike we already have coming.
He has supported taxing our cell phones each month, paying twice as much for substitute teachers than any other district in Genesee County.
Why are we laying off teachers and keeping a Hall Monitor who just had his job title changed to Security and changed from 10 months to 12 months, other than the person is related to a Board member. Teacher or security guard? I vote for keeping the teacher.
Why is there not a policy that states you cannot hire your relatives? Do you really think the Board is going to hold the line on pay and benefits when they are negotiating with their own family?
School employees earn extra money for being coaches and chaperons, as they should. Extra work, extra pay like any other 2nd job. But that extra pay should not be added to the employee’s base pay to calculate retirement pay.
We need change. Nothing personal, but we need new people and a new view.
Mr. DiSalvo raised the issue
Mr. DiSalvo raised the issue of where Mrs. Puzio lives.
By the time I reached the end of writing the article, I felt it was long enough and late enough that I didn't get into it.
But Patrick Burk said Puzio rents an apartment in Batavia and doesn't commute everyday.
Puzio rents an apartment is
Puzio rents an apartment is BS . Its residency that matters . Disconnected with the community is what is gioing . If you live and breath Batavia then conscience budgetory decisions would be made . If someone just rents an apartment to say they pay taxes , they are still diconnected to our society . And if thats the case where does this apartment exist and why is Puzio never around town or at her desk ?
Thomas, Just for the record,
Thomas,
Just for the record, I have been in the district office 5 times in the last month, and she was there each time.
And the Board members all live in the district. The Board is the problem and has to be changed. Keep the same people and you keep the same problems.
What are the enrollment
What are the enrollment numbers? How do they compare to 5 years ago? Ten years ago? Do they tell us it costs more money to teach fewer students? That it takes more teachers and more administrators to teach fewer children?
For those of you trying to
For those of you trying to send a message to the BOE by voting against the budget.....have you thought about who you are really hurting?
The emotional appeal of "it's
The emotional appeal of "it's for the kids" is killing taxpayers and killing jobs.
New York pays among the highest school taxes in the nation, but where's the return on investment? It's not like New York schools are producing any better educated students than the rest of the country.
It's also important that our kids have jobs when they graduate.
BTW; I feel bad, actually,
BTW; I feel bad, actually, for board members and administrators. They're trapped in a system not of their making (it took decades of bad decisions to get where New York is) and there's no easy fix. The main impression I came away with from the budget presentation was "we're seriously screwed."
And this is why I'm a localist first and foremost -- the state and federal government have way too much say in how our money is spent.
People gripe about $100K salaries locally, and such, but that's a drop in the bucket of the real waste of tax dollars, which comes from overburdening, unnecessary, wasteful education departments at the state and federal level.
Howard, I agree with you, but
Howard, I agree with you, but that doesn't change the fact that -- if you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got.
The board and the administration need to take a serious look at getting more out of less.
Here's an example. This week, the school district is holding exams for AP (advanced placement) courses at GCC where I'm pretty sure they're renting that space. They are also hiring a retired teacher (full disclosure - he's a friend of mine) to proctor said exams.
Do you mean to tell me that there isn't SOMEWHERE on the BHS campus where those exams could be held? If that were the case, couldn't those exams be proctored by a current BHS teacher (say maybe the teacher who teaches the class)?
There are those that may say that this is a drop in the bucket and maybe it is, but it's an example of potentially unnecessary waste and sooner or later all those drops add up.
John , thats nice to see you
John , thats nice to see you care to pay her a visit 5 times this month (probably in the middle of the day )(in late out early is what I hear from insiders).
You are missing the point , Dr Vanscoy was the last resident we had that ran our school system (the best we ever had ).Ever since then it's been a loophole in the residency requirement that hinders us for having the best resident to run our school system .
Dave, Just so you know, the
Dave,
Just so you know, the teacher of an AP class is absolutely not allowed to proctor (or even be in the room) of the exam while it is being given.
In addition, one of the reasons districts have AP exams offsite is because of the disruption it causes (does BHS use bells to indicate start and end of classes? Must be turned off. Exams would have to be given in the gym and most likely tables would need to be rented to keep students the minimum 5 feet apart. No gym class for two weeks).
Many schools take AP exams off site. Could they find a way to do it at the BHS campus? Probably. But it's not always a simple solution.
Thanks for the clarification
Thanks for the clarification on that Keith. I was not aware of the requirement that the teacher not proctor the exam. Seems odd to me, but I'm not an educator.
I only used that as an example of one thing that I've observed.
Clearly there are many opportunities for savings in a district that ranked 68th out of 97 districts in Cost Effectiveness and 77th out of 97 districts in Administrative Efficiency.
I know there are people who pooh-pooh those numbers whenever I mention them, but they're not my numbers. The people at Business First took the time and effort to measure Western New York school districts against some set of criteria to come up with those results. Instead of simply dismissing those ratings, how about taking an exhaustive look at how EVERYTHING is done to see where additional savings are possible?
Thomas, I don't want the best
Thomas, I don't want the best resident to be hired, I want the best hired, period. I don't care where they live. The Board lives here, that's the important part.
But that is not the point is it. Even if they all lived here, the taxes are still going up. It is who does the hiring, who decides how much to pay, who is kept and who is let go. The Board is the issue, not where somebody lives.
First I'd like to thank
First I'd like to thank Howard for always been even-keeled with his comments and pointing out the logistics and facts of all situations on The Batavian so that other close-minded persons are hopefully able to look at another perspective of whatever is being talked about.
Secondly, John-- where is the proof about the involvement of family in deciding job cuts and salary cuts? I am a teacher. I fully understand that jobs are precious and many deserving teachers are at risk to lose them. It is unfortunate and sad that jobs have been cut in the district already, as I know some of them personally. I also fully understand that many teachers have jobs that don't fully invest themselves in the classroom or their students. I've seen it first hand, and I've heard the whispers from students. It takes a special person to teach the kids of this generation. I am in no way speaking about just Batavia, I mean statewide, nationwide. A good teacher should create relationships with students. A good teacher should have a one-on-one, human-to-human understanding of students as individuals. Students should feel comfortable around their teacher, and should be able to feel uplifted, grown-up, and privileged when speaking to their teacher. Upon seeing them outside of school, students and teachers should have a "hello, how are you" cordial relationship. So many times students don't feel comfortable with their teachers because they don't know them as a person. Why all the teaching gibberish first? Because this person you speak of, that you downgrade on The Batavian every few weeks, has all of those qualities and isn't even in a teaching position. Ask the students. Many people in the district, including janitors (no, I don't believe 100k is reasonable, though) and aides and study hall personnel have quality relationships with students and are needed in the system. STUDENTS. That is who everyone should worry about.
"Not personal?" You made it personal to many people via this website with your comments and "insider information." Do you think that people who read these comments won't know who you're speaking of? Instead of being politically correct, say the names of the people you're referring to so that everyone knows (in case they aren't able to figure it out already) who you're talking about. Way to make it seem like a completely unimportant position by saying "hall monitor." Yes, not a big deal when you say it like that, alright. But go ahead and examine the effect of the hall monitor on the kids in the school and those he coaches year-round. It's called respect, which some great teachers find hard to earn. It makes the school run smoother, and the kids more apt to listen to someone who they feel comfortable with.
It has nothing to do with family. Being hired because of relation? This person has held the same title for years. People stay in the district because they are valuable, and what makes them valuable is what they mean to the students. Ask the students if the halls would be the same without some of the loved janitors, study hall monitors, secretarial staff, aides, and your "hall monitor." I guarantee the answer is a resounding "no."
Lindsay, I have no "inside"
Lindsay,
I have no "inside" information, none.
I do not think that Board members family should be hired while the Board member is in office. You never know if the person is the best qualified or best connected. The City is a good example. While a person is on the City Council, family members can not be hired.
I also believe that there is an inherent conflict when a Board member has to decide how big a pay raise to give somebody or how much to charge for health care, when the decision will impact on the family member.
We are laying off teachers and aides. Which job is really more important to kids, your job as a teacher or the hall monitor/security guard? Both provide a service. It's a matter of value for the dollar.
As for any employee that coaches, they get paid extra, as they should. But should that extra pay go on the base pay for retirement calculation?
John , Good points you make .
John , Good points you make . My question to you is , do you think that we have the best Superintendant that was available at the time of the hiring . And if so , then it would be a huge coincedence that she was already in our school system . My take is she was the easiest puppet to control by the puppet masters ( the Board ).
There are no janitors anymore
There are no janitors anymore as with gym teachers and hall monitors ."
Thomas, I have no idea if the
Thomas,
I have no idea if the current Superintendent was the best candidate or not, only the Board members would know that. I have no idea who else, if anyone, was even interviewed.
Why is the answer to always
Why is the answer to always raise taxes...why isnt it pay cuts...not job cuts..pay cuts..leave ppl in position to at least put back into our failing economy...if tax payers have to reorganize thier budgets to meet the endless burden of tax hikes...food price hikes..gas hikes..utility hikes..then those that we pay out of our pocket..can take a cut and budget as well....sick of this crap...really am...the idiots just dont get it...