BOE holds public hearing on 2020-21 budget

PINE PLAINS — With the school district’s annual budget vote just around the corner, the Pine Plains Board of Education (BOE) offered the public a chance to ask questions about the already-adopted 2020-21 budget at a virtual public hearing held on Wednesday, May 27.

The BOE adopted the 2020-21 school district budget during its virtual meeting on Tuesday, April 28. Beginning at 7 p.m. last Wednesday evening, the public hearing was organized via video conference and led by Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Michael Goldbeck.

Goldbeck reported that the budget for the 2020-21 school year was calculated at $33,525,450, marking a year-to-year increase of 1.81% or $596,572. The adopted budget features a tax levy limit of $24,189,676 (indicating an increase of 2.43% or $574,104 from last year) and a total of $6,830,176 in state aid (indicating a decrease of 9.91% or $751,014). Goldbeck notified the BOE that the amount set aside for state aid includes a reduction of $760,000 due to anticipated mid-year cuts.

Goldbeck reported that the 2020-21 budget “enables the district to maintain and expand all programs while ensuring the overall health and safety of students and staff.” Among its priorities, he said the budget seeks to support academics in grades K through 12; a full-day pre-k program; the agriculture program; the one-to-one computer initiative in pre-k through 12th grade; the athletics program and extracurricular activities; and academic intervention and special education services. 

Reviewing the budget’s three main components, Goldbeck explained that 79.5% of the budget was set aside for program costs while 11.3% of the budget went toward administrative costs and 9.2% of the budget went toward capital costs. Overall, the budget’s administrative component totaled $3,793,556; the program component totaled $26,661,577; and the capital component totaled $3,070,317. Offering a comparison between the 2020-21 budget and the current 2019-20 budget, Goldbeck guided the BOE through the various additions, reductions, increases and decreases featured in this year’s adopted budget. 

Breaking down the budget by areas of expenditures, 44.8% of the budget was directed into salaries while 33.8% of the budget went toward benefits. The remaining 21.4%, Goldbeck said, went into everything else, including materials and supplies, tuitions, heat and utilities, Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) programs and services and other similar items.

Goldbeck presented the BOE with a revenue budget comparison, pointing out the 9.91% decrease (or $751,014) in state aid based on the April 2020 legislative budget and the 7.59% decrease (or $30,000) in non-tax revenue. Acknowledging that the 2020-21 school year marks the ninth year of the New York State Property Tax Cap Law, he said the allowable levy limit for the 2020-21 fiscal year was calculated at $2.43%. Since the budget’s proposed levy of $24,189,676 falls within the tax levy limit, a simple majority is required to pass the budget. Goldbeck also mentioned that taxpayers who qualify will receive the property tax rebate from the state.

Looking at the estimated 2020-21 true value tax rate, Goldbeck said that under the proposed levy and based on the 2019-20 assessment data, the projected true value tax rate is $13.63 per $1,000 of assessed value. For a home assessed at $100,000, a district taxpayer can expect to pay $1,363 in school taxes for the 2020-21 fiscal year, marking a $32 increase from the 2019-20 school year.

Yet Goldbeck acknowledged that there are still budget factors to consider, such as unsettled support staff contracts, costs for students with special needs, extended school year and reopening costs and revised voting protocols for 2020. He reminded the BOE that transportation costs could change significantly as could heating fuel prices and usage. There are also revenue issues to consider, including anticipated cuts in state aid, federal grant allocations and the use of the district’s fund balance to balance the budget.

Voters will also be asked to cast their ballots for a bus purchase proposition and the election of two BOE members this year. The bus purchase proposition entails the purchase of four 35-passenger or larger school buses (including cameras and other necessary equipment) at a maximum estimated cost of $62,110 each for an aggregate maximum estimated cost of $248,440. Goldbeck pointed out that using the year-end fund balance in lieu of borrowing will save the district approximately $20,000 in avoided financing costs and “eliminate the need to budget debt service of $54,00 per year for five years beginning with the 2021-22 fiscal year.” 

Incumbent candidates James Griffin and Heidi Johnson are running uncontested in this year’s BOE election. For more, read their profiles on this page.

Should anyone have questions about the budget, Goldbeck advised they reach out to Superintendent of Schools Martin Handler at 518-398-718, ext. 1401 or m.handler@ppcsd.org. 

For questions related to this year’s mail-in voting procedures and absentee ballots, residents should get in contact with the district clerk at 518-398-7181, ext. 1408 or at j.tomaine@ppcsd.org.

Throughout the hearing, there were no comments or questions from the public.