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APPROVED MINUTES PROPOSED MAY 10, 2005 MINUTES ANNUAL BUDGET HEARING of the of the SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT Held in the Senior High School Auditorium Conklin, New York, County of Broome
BOARD Mrs. Janice Young MEMBERS Mrs. Christine Moriarty PRESENT: Mrs. Donna Pflanz-May Mr. John Finch, Jr. Mrs. Alicia Bishop Mrs. Julia Bowers Mr. Rusty Storm Mrs. Eleanor Hamilton
Mr. Richard Stank, Interim Superintendent, welcomed those present, and called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Mr. Stank introduced the Board members present.
Mr. Stank introduced those members of the administration in attendance. Mr. Stank and Mr. Melamed reviewed the administrative, capital and program budget; and the District's revenue from state aid and other sources. Mr. Stank talked about the measures that were taken to reduce expenses in the proposed budget, the real dollar tax impact the proposed budget would have, and the contingency budget. Mr. Stank gave an historic perspective, showing the budget and tax increase from 1997 to the present. Mr. Stank reviewed the Board seats up for election and the candidates running for each seat.
Conklin Town Supervisor Debra Preston questioned salaries and asked if holding the raises for those employees not belonging to a union has been considered. Mrs. Young replied that they Board cannot comment on salaries because negotiations are taking place with the unions. Mrs. Preston also asked about the District looking into shared services to reduce costs. Mr. Melamed replied that the Business Office is a shared service through BOCES and the increase in cost there is at the BOCES level. Mrs. Preston asked about the purchase of contractual items. Mr. Stank explained that the District just joined a consortium for the purchase of natural gas. Gas is purchased under state contract and the District cannot get a lower price. Mrs. Preston asked about employee contributions to health insurance. Mrs. Young explained that the contribution to health insurance depends on what union an employee is in. Mrs. Preston asked what an employee in SVTA pays. Mr. Stank replied that the employee contribution is nothing for individual coverage and for family coverage it is 5% of the difference between what it costs the District for individual coverage and family coverage. Mr. Stank also explained that this is what the health insurance contributions are with the old contract and also explained that the old contract is still in effect until a new contract is passed. Another resident spoke regarding his concerns with the employee health insurance contributions and low co-pays. Mrs. Preston asked how much will be left in the fund balance after $500,000 is appropriated to reduce the tax levy. Mrs. Young replied that $32,000 will be left. Bonnie Gates, resident, voiced her concerns with wages and the tax rate increase. Mrs. Gates also asked about the state retirement system. Mr. Stank explained how the state retirement system works. Mrs. Gates suggested that students who participate in sports pay to participate. Mrs. Gates also feels that field trips are a perk and should be eliminated. Mrs. Pflanz-May reported that the PTAs are paying for the field trips that were just approved. Mr. Stank stated that the District does fund some local field trips but they are few and far between. Mr. Storm commented that money spent on field trips is money well spent, the students get hands on learning. Mr. Storm also stated that he has been trying to get field trips and the summer enrichment program back in the budget but it has fallen on deaf ears. Conklin Town Councilman Jim Finch voiced his concern with wages and the employee contribution to health insurance. Mr. Finch talked about what the national increase in wages is and asked what the increase in wages for the District will be. Mr. Stank replied that the increase in the budget is not just due to salaries, and salaries cannot be commented on due to ongoing negotiations. Mr. Stank explained again that the health insurance contributions are with the old contract and also explained that the old contract is still in effect until a new contract is passed. Mrs. Moriarty stated that we are at an impasse in negotiations right now. Another resident, who works for the State of New York, talked about how his health insurance has gone up every year. Steve Barker asked about the Instruction Component of the budget. Mr. Stank explained what is in the Instruction Component. Mrs. Preston stated that the District must have a percentage increase for salaries in mind in order to have it in the budget. She asked what will happen if the negotiated increase is more than what was planned for. Mrs. Young replied that the Board would not approve it if it was more. Mr. George Frailey voiced his concerns with the employee health insurance contributions. Mary Rader, former Board member, stated that there are four union contracts being negotiated and that the Board cannot discuss negotiations. Mrs. Rader also stated that you have to go by the old contract until you have a new one. Mrs. Rader also stated that she hopes the Board will continue to take into consideration what the taxpayers are saying. Mrs. Rader talked about state mandates and how you cannot have big class sizes. Mr. Danny Pierce, resident, asked what the difference is between the budget being put before the voters and what the contingency budget would be. The contingency budget was explained and cuts totaling $890,000 would have to be made if the District goes on a contingency budget. Mr. Pierce asked if what could be cut to reduce the budget. Mrs. Young replied that the Board wanted to maintain programs and this is the best budget to do that. Mr. Steve Barker asked about the chartering of Serafini buses. Mr. Stank explained that the charter buses are used to transport special education students to school, students that need special buses that the District does not own. Mrs. Gates asked about the cost for the parking lot in front of the school. Mr. Stank replied that it is not in the proposed budget. Mrs. Gates stated that she feels student should pay to park. Mrs. Moriarty and Mr. Daniels explained how the parking lot in front of the school was redone for a buses only lane, and safety reasons. Students do pay for a parking permit to park. Mr. Storm stated that more students are driving to school than ever before and that the Board should look at a policy on who can drive to school. Mr. Stank stated that the District cannot prevent students from driving to school. Mr. Pierce asked about Mr. Stank's salary. Mrs. Young replied that Mr. Stank is worth every penny. Mrs. Preston stated that the District needed Mr. Stank here as Interim Superintendent. Mrs. Danielle Barker, resident, stated that experience came back with Mr. Stank and the District did not have to train someone. Mrs. Barker stated that she hopes the Board continues to go forward with negotiations and then asked about sports and music uniforms. Mr. Wilson talked about the sports programs and stated that charging a fee to participate in a sports program in school is illegal in New York State. Mr. Wilson and Mrs. Moriarty talked about the uniforms for the sports programs. Mrs. Gates asked if athletics would be cut if the District goes on a contingency budget. Mr. Wilson and Mrs. Moriarty replied that athletics may be reduced but not necessarily cut. Mr. Jack Bell, resident, asked about the budget process. Mrs. Young explained the budget process and explained that the Board gets a monthly report of expenditures. Mr. Stank reported that Mr. Paske put a freeze on spending in October 2004.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:03 p.m. Respectfully submitted,
Diane M. Kalmen School District Clerk
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