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April 6, 2010 - During the district's Community Budget Forums, held March 11 and March 25, members of the Goshen community asked a number of questions concerning the 2010-11 budget. District officials are working to answer all questions, and will post answers as they become available.

Questions from the March 11th Community Budget Forum

1. Added April 12: How is state aid formula determined? “Wealth” determination?
   State aid formula is determined by a complex maze of equations that take into account a variety of factors, such as expenditures, enrollment, wealth, tax base, number of days of school, costs per pupil for special education, miles driven by buses, number of students attending private schools in the district, etc. There are several different kinds of state aid, so the formula and information used varies per the aid category.
    
2. Added April 12: What parts of the budget can school board adjust? i.e., most of budget increase is salary increase/benefits. Can these be frozen?
   In theory, the Board can adjust the budget however they like to focus on educational priorities. The reality is that so much is controlled by mandates and contractual obligations, that maybe 5 % or less can really be adjusted.
    
3. Added April 12: What tax increase would be needed to cover gap (what would be typical increase for various households) or what % increase in current property tax amounts?
   A 10.13 % increase in the tax levy would be required to cover the $2.3 million gap. However, we recognize that a 10.13 % increase is too high and we are striving for an approximately 4% tax levy increase. What a typical increase would be would better be determined once the Board adopts the budget on April 19.
    
4. Added April 12: Is it possible to put up several budgets and allow the voting public to determine what budget we operate under?
   For example: 1. Contingency 2. 4% up 3. 8% up 4. 12 % up
   No. You can only put up one budget at a time for vote. Separate propositions are allowed for bus purchases and building projects.
    
5. Added April 12: How does money get into the reserve fund?
   Money is put into the reserve fund by action of the Board of Education. Reserve fund money comes from excess between revenue received and expenditures made. A limited number of reserves require voter approval.
    
6. Added April 9: Salary freezes - charging bus service for private schools - union free?
   The district is in negotiations with its bargaining units. We can not charge for bus service to private schools. We are obligated, by law, to transport students to private schools within a certain radius at no charge.
    
7. Added April 9: What part of $61 million is fixed and non-negotiable? i.e., can teacher salaries and benefits be reduced legally? Why are teachers accepting 3.5% increases when CPI  is 0% and revenues are going down?
   Approximately 75-80% of the budget is for salaries and benefits. Salary and benefits are normally negotiable at the end of the contract term. They can only be reduced legally if both parties agree. No new agreement for 2010-11 has been signed between the Board of Education and the teachers at this time.
    
8. Added April 9: What percentage of the total budget is contractual obligation? Salaries/benefits/others?
   Salaries and benefits make up approximately 75-80% of the budget.
    
9. Added April 9: What is "Best in Class"? i.e. cost per student - in Goshen? Do you have to report cash balance?
   There are different ways to calculate this. You can divide the total budget by the number of students (for 2009-10, this would be $59,652,247 / 3,000 = $19,884). Some districts pay more than others. Cash balance is reported annually to the State of New York as part of the annual financial statements as prepared by the auditor.
    
10. The PowerPoint presentation quoted a reduction of staff from 2008-09 to 2009-10. What is the total difference of all employees from 2008-09 vs. 2009-10?
    From 2008-09 to 2009-10, there was a reduction of 17.3 FTE faculty/staff, 2 coaches, 10 teacher aides and 15 coordinators.
     
11. Do all of our teachers teach in a classroom at least 80 percent of the school day?
    The vast majority of our teachers teach at least 80 percent of the day, with exception to department heads and specialists, who have additional duties, and those teachers who are not full-time.
     
12. How many school vehicles are assigned to school employees?
    There are two district employees who are assigned a school vehicle because their positions require them to be on-call 24 hours per day, seven days per week. There are Buildings & Grounds vehicles and mail trucks that are used by employees during the work day, but no employees have district vehicles for personal use.
     
13. What have or are other towns doing with similar budget issues? Can we learn from others?
    Many districts are cutting staff, reducing or eliminating programs and increasing class sizes. This is a trend not only in our area, but across New York State and the entire country.
     
14. 80% (of the budget) is allocated for salaries and benefits. How much of that percent is allocated for program?
    Salaries and benefits account for the largest share of our annual budget, and as such, all of our educational programs are supported by the staff members who conduct those programs.
     
15. People unemployed, bankrupt, foreclosing – how can you propose an increase?
    A school district’s budget is much like a home’s budget. There are no new programs for 2010-11; however, expenditures such as electricity in our buildings, fuel for our buses, oil for heat and health insurance costs are rising and unfortunately, these rising costs are beyond our control.
     
16. How much do modified sports and after-school programs cost?
    If included in the 2010-11 budget, the modified sports program will cost $113,000.
     
17. Why are teacher salaries or pensions never considered when making cuts?
    As stated on several occasions, the district is working closely with its bargaining units and all parties involved are committed to being a part of the solution.
     
18. How will the teacher contract, which I believe is soon to be negotiated, affect the budget?
    Negotiations are ongoing with all of our bargaining units. Whether a settlement will be reached before the budget is adopted remains to be determined.
     
19. What salary increase was negotiated for CSEA contract? Did it include a Step also? How much is spent total on the musical every year?
    Negotiations with CSEA are ongoing and at this time, no agreement has yet to be reached. Yes, according to the Triborough Amendment, a district must pay Step increases by law.
    The district is looking into the cost for the high school musical.
     
20. Extra-curricular program reduction or elimination? Why raises above the built-in Step raises? What do corporations do when revenues fall? Pay for play conservation?
    At this point, everything is on the table in terms of reductions, for example, modified sports. The district is still in the process of negotiating with its bargaining units, and all suggestions for reducing expenditures are being considered. The district is unaware of exactly how all other corporations deal with a loss of revenue; however, unlike a public school district, a corporation is not governed by state law.
     
21. Where do school supplies fall? Which expenditures?
    As part of the budget process, each school in the district makes requests for a variety of supplies to support our educational programs. Therefore, school supplies expenditures fall under each individual school’s budget.

Questions from the March 25th Community Budget Forum

1. Added April 12: Why did the budget increase by $2.3 million?
   The rollover budget actually increased by approximately $2 million. In addition, there is an approximately $300,000 loss in Medicaid and other revenue, which equals a total gap of $2.3 million. The rollover budget increased $2 million or 3.4 % because of contractual obligations, fringe benefit rate increases such as TRS and ERS (teacher and employee retirement systems) and increased expenses for existing programs, such as for BOCES.
    
2. Added April 12: When will special education budget from Albany be known?
   The special education summer school aid package should be part of the adopted NYS state aid package and as such, should be known when the state approves its state budget for education.
    
3. Added April 9: Why can't parents volunteer at clubs, dances and as aides?
   Parents can volunteer and currently do volunteer. The district encourages volunteering in our schools
    
4. Added April 9: What is our growth/reduction in enrollment?
   The district continues to see a slight increase in growth every year.
    
5. Added April 9: What would tax increase be if we kept reductions?
   If the district reduces the budget by $2.3 million for next year, as it has suggested, the tax levy increase would be approximately 3.99%. If $2.3 million in reductions are NOT made for next year, the tax levy increase would be approximately 10.13 %.
    
6. Added April 9: What is the average tax payer increase?
   The proposed budget has not yet been adopted for 2010-11, therefore the average tax payer increase is not known at this time.
    
7. Added April 9: How will social security costs affect the district?
   For every $1 increase in salary, social security costs go up 0.0765 cents. For every $1 decrease in salary, social security costs go down 0.0765 cents.
    
8. Added April 9: How would a cap in tax affect the financial woes of the district?
   To obtain an approximately 4% tax levy increase would require $2.3 million in reductions to our current program for 2010-11. To achieve a 0% tax levy increase, as proposed with a tax cap, an addition $1.5 million in reductions would need to be made, for a total of $3.8 million in cuts.
    
9. Can you cut teacher aides/non-instructional/administrators instead of teachers?
   There were 10 teacher aide positions cut from last year's budget (2009-10), and many of the aides who serve in our schools are required, by law, in order to meet the needs of special education students.
   In the proposed budget for 2010-11, two administrator positions have been cut, leaving the district with ten administrators.
    
10. If other districts are eliminating modified sports, does it make sense for us to keep it?
    We are not sure which district will eliminate the modified sports program. As a district, we strongly feel that modified-level students should have activities to participate in after school.
     
11. If salaries are frozen, what would savings be?
    The district and unions are in the process of collective bargaining. It would be viewed as an improper practice as far as negotiations are concerned to comment.
     
12. What benefit do you get by increasing teacher contributions to benefits plan? This could be a huge expense.
    This too is an area of collective bargaining, and the district can not comment while in negotiations.
     
13. Can we avoid teacher cuts by having teachers put more into their benefits/salary freeze?
    Yes. The money saved would allow us to keep positions intact.
     
14. Why cut 17 teachers and only two administrators?
    Our administrators work year round to manage staff, buildings and budget and actively monitor student progress to ensure that our students are meeting state and federal standards.
    Goshen currently has the following administrative positions (Two of these administrative positions will be eliminated for 2010-11):
    • Superintendent of Schools
    • Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
    • Assistant Superintendent for Business
    • Goshen High School Principal and 2 Assistant Principals
    • C. J. Hooker Middle School Principal and Assistant Principal
    • Goshen Intermediate School Principal
    • Scotchtown Avenue Elementary School Principal
    • Shared Assistant Principal (SAS/GIS)
    • Director of Pupil Personnel Services
    • CSE Chairperson
    • Director of Athletics
     
15. What is a contingency budget?
    Under state law, school boards can submit a budget to voters a maximum of two times. If the proposed budget is defeated twice, the board must adopt a contingency budget, which would put a cap on new spending. Under a contingent budget, the district may not increase spending by more than 120 percent of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or four percent, whichever is lower. This year, CPI has been set at -0.4%.
    Please note that the items exempt from this cap are tax certiorari settlements, debt service (mortgage payments) and costs associated with enrollment growth.
    At this point in time, a contingency budget is estimated to be $59,685,992 but may change should the state change any of its formulas.
     
16. When will special education budget from Albany be known?
    The special education summer school aid package should be part of the adopted NYS state aid package and as such, should be known when the state approves its state budget for education.
     
17. What is Mentoring Program and C-Tech program?
    The Mentoring Program is a required program. All new teachers are assigned a veteran teacher for his or her first year. However, since the district will not add any new teachers for 2010-11, the program can be eliminated.
    The C-Tech program, or Career and Technical Education Program, is a BOCES program offered to high school students at the Orange-Ulster BOCES campus in Goshen. Participating students will attend Goshen High School for half the school day and then attend C-Tech for the other half to learn specific career and technical skills.
     
18. Does eliminating the GO Program slots put the at-risk students back in the regular classroom?
    One of the suggested reductions for 2010-11 is to reduce two slots for the GO Program, of Graduation Option Program. Yes, those two students will then attend the regular school program at Goshen High School.
     
19. How will cutting teachers affect class sizes?
    Whenever a teaching position is eliminated, the remaining teachers in that subject area will absorb those students, increasing class size. The district is unsure as to which teaching positions will be cut for 2010-11; therefore it is difficult to determine at this time which classes will increase and by how many students.
     
20. Can parents choose to continue Mandarin and pay themselves?
    No. Seventh and eighth grade students who are participating in the Mandarin Chinese foreign language program will be able to continue next year; however, current sixth grade students within the program will not be able to take Mandarin next year. They will be able to take French or Spanish. The program is a distance-learning program, and there needs to be an entire class for participation.
     
21. How many children do the Restart/GO/C-Tech programs serve? How much? What are they?
    The Restart Program is a short-term crisis intervention program. After about eight weeks, the student transitions back to the regular school program. In 2009-10, there are 18 students enrolled; the district has budgeted for 16 in 2010-11.
    The GO (Graduation Option) Program is to help at-risk students meet their graduation requirements. For 2009-10, the district budgeted for 18 slots; 16 for 2010-11.
    The C-Tech Program is a career and technical skills program at Orange-Ulster BOCES. The program is very popular, with 93 students enrolled. The district is budgeting for 100 slots for 2010-11.
     
22. Can we keep Modified sports with parents paying a small fee?
    The district has asked its legal counsel to look into this suggestion.
     
23. Has the idea of changing one high school AP position to a dean position been discussed?
    At this point, everything is being discussed and will remain on the table until the budget is in place.
     
24. Have more coordinator positions been considered?
    In reference to coordinators replacing administrators - the district is looking at every possibility for cost-cutting measures; therefore, yes, this is being considered.
     
25. How many children participate in modified sports? How much?
    For all seasons, 345 students participated in modified sports program this year. The cost of the program is $113,000.