By STEPHEN BARTLETT
PLATTSBURGH — Gov. David Paterson's proposal to cut education aid means $1,237,884 less for Plattsburgh City School than last year.
It's a significant amount, said Plattsburgh City School Superintendent James "Jake" Short, and will require a review of all programs and school activities.
But taxpayers, already shouldering an overwhelming fiscal load in New York, will not again be called upon to solve the state's problem.
"Solutions will have to come from within," Short said. "Not through taxation."
That's likely welcome news to taxpayers, whose angst is fairly high as many face little to no raises over the past few years or even layoffs.
REGIONAL CONCERN
Many area school districts will have to contend with a 5-percent cut in aid under Paterson's proposal, even as their costs continue to rise, making it difficult to maintain programs with less money coming in and more going out.
Paterson has proposed cutting more than $1 billion in school aid to contend with the state's deficit, which would be the largest year-to-year cut in at least two decades.
BOOST FROM STIMULUS
"The current proposed executive budget defines a serious reduction in aid to Plattsburgh City Schools," Short said.
"It is important to keep in mind that our state aid was also reduced last year, only to be masked by federal stimulus funds."
Those stimulus funds are set to expire next year, leaving another hole for 2011-12. The federal money was issued to help districts to avoid program cuts and layoffs when they saw a decrease in state aid more than a year ago.
"Standard inflationary increases, continued lack of mandate relief and contractual obligations, combined with this reduction in aid, further defines significant financial concerns for public schools," Short said.
Also, the State Retirement Fund lost money when the stock market crashed in 2008, which forced school districts to contribute significantly more to pensions.
'LIVE WITHIN MEANS'
Plattsburgh school officials will take the full range and scope of school activities into consideration while creating the 2010-11 budget.
"The described budget issues can not be born by local taxpayers — they are already paying too much," Short said.
"In public education, we will need to live within our means, and we all know the state of New York does not have the revenue available to continue supporting schools at levels it previously did."
New York spends roughly $15,500 per pupil annually, which is nearly $6,000 more than the national average.
RESERVE FUNDS
Paterson has said most school districts should be able to cope with the aid cut by utilizing reserves.
Wealthier schools have piled up hefty cash reserves, but that may not be so for districts in less affluent areas, such as the North Country's rural schools. Officials in this area worry they'll deplete their reserves and then have nothing to turn to when unexpected expenses turn up.
"You have to be conservative with the reserves you use this year," said Malone Central School Superintendent Wayne Walbridge. "They think 'just dip into reserves', but say someone does this and they don't have much left and then next year they have the funding cliff, and all of a sudden he (Paterson) or some other governor comes out with a cut. All of a sudden, your tax levy increases.
"If you do have a fund balance, you have to strategize how to use it over a period of time so you can keep the tax levy palatable for taxpayers and continue to provide a quality education for kids."
JOB CUTS PLANNED
For Malone, Paterson's proposed 5-percent cut would be a significant hit at $749,605.
"There is no question about that," Walbridge said.
The tax levy would have to be hiked around 6 percent just to make up for the decrease in aid, not counting cost increases in an array of areas.
"This is really leaving us in a situation where we are taking a three-pronged approach to build the budget," Walbridge said.
First, the district will likely eliminate 10 to 13 instructional positions through attrition.
Second, school officials will turn to some of its fund balance to offset taxes.
Finally, the district will analyze the budget line by line to compare what was spent last year to what ultimately goes into the 2010-11 budget and trim those numbers some.
"It will be a pretty tight budget," Walbridge said, "but that is the responsible thing to do, at this point in time, and we are confident we can get a pretty cost-effective budget for taxpayers that also meets the needs of our students.
"It won't be easy, and there will be some pain, but we believe we will be able to get there."
E-mail Stephen Bartlett at: sbartlett@pressrepublican.com
