Schools Reimbursed by State, But Future Payments Remain Iffy

January 29, 2010

HARLEM VALLEY — It was a “What do you want to hear first, the good news or the bad news?” kind of week for school districts in the state of New York last week, as Gov. David Paterson u nveiled his 2010-11 budget proposal. While delayed payments in state aid and STAR (the state’s School Tax Relief program) payments were sent to districts, the proposed cuts for next year’s budget, if implemented, would create serious strains on schools’ budgets and operating capabilities.

The good news is that state funding delayed in December has been reimbursed to schools: nearly $300,000 for Pine Plains and $180,000 for Webutuck. The downside to receiving those checks is news from the state comptroller’s office that future payments scheduled for March could be delayed or cut completely, essentially recreating the same scenario.

Pine Plains Superintendent Linda Kaumeyer said that even if that were to happen, the school is in a financial situation where it could dip into its fund balance.

“It wouldn’t have a major impact,” she explained, but stressed that the district does “count on every dollar of STAR reimbursement.”

Webutuck Superintendent Lee Bordick said he didn’t think the state would completely cut off funding, but that another delay of funds is not something the district wants to face.

“Delaying would mean the possibility of [the school district’s] borrowing, and that’s costly,” he explained. “But I think we’re in pretty good shape with our fund balance.”

The bad news is that Paterson’s budget proposal means double-digit percentage decreases in state aid for local school districts: a loss of 15.97 percent for the Pine Plains Central School District and a 14.96-percent decrease for Webutuck Central School District, according to the schools’ superintendents.

A nearly 16-percent decrease for Pine Plains would equal about $1.1 million, Kaumeyer explained. Last year Paterson proposed more than $900,000 in cuts for the district. The difference this year, which is creating a formidable upco ming budget season for schools, is that the cut to the 2009-10 budget was offset by federal stimulus funds (the Pine Plains district saw no decrease in aid because of stimulus funding).

While the stimulus package was originally planned to last two years, there is talk that the state will be using the second-year funds to combat state deficits this year, meaning there will be no stimulus funding to come to the rescue for school districts during the 2010-11 school year.

“It’s frustrating but not entirely unanticipated,” said Kaumeyer at the Jan. 20 Board of Education meeting. “For the last four years the district has seen a decrease in state funding.”

Kaumeyer acknowledged that the district has its work cut out. The start of the budget season began publicly last night with the first workshop of the season, and moving forward the district will have to keep its eyes and ears on the state Legislature to see what the eventual cuts will be.

In Webutuck, a 14.96-percent decrease equals roughly $700,000. However, Bordick said that districts across the state will be communicating with state legislators and representatives to bring that number down by the time the Legislature presents its budget. In the meantime, the Board of Education will begin its budget process, which should get “very intense” by the time March rolls around, the superintendent said.

“It would be a fairly substantial cut,” Bordick said, “but Webutuck is in a fairly solid financial situation. We’re evaluating where we are, and hoping to enhance the state aid picture before the law goes into effect.”

The deadline for the Legislature’s budget is April 1, but rumors have begun circulating that the Legislature will not make that deadline. If it is late, school districts will be forced to present a budget to the public without knowing exactly what the state aid cuts w ill be.

The next Pine Plains Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Feb. 3. The next Webutuck Board of Education meeting will be held Feb. 1. Visit ppcsd.org or webutuckschools.org for more information.