Residents give input on 2012-13 district budget

The Marcellus Central School District’s first community budget forum, held Jan. 26 in the high school auditorium, drew some 250 residents and lasted more than two hours.

Board of Education members presented what they know so far about the 2012-13 fiscal situation, and then invited citizens to line up behind two microphones to weigh in on their budget priorities. Residents will have another chance to talk about the budget at a second community budget forum scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 15 in the high school auditorium."We’re facing some difficult realities this year,” Marcellus Board President David Kelly said.Marcellus Central Schools confronts a budget gap of $2.5 million for 2012-13, board member John Fuller said. Last year, Marcellus decreased its budget through staff reductions and by dipping into the district’s fund balance.

“We lost great people and staff resources,” Mr. Fuller said.

To close the 2012-13 budget gap, in the face of rising costs (health and pension benefits) and dwindling state aid, the district must now determine where best to trim. To kick-start the dialogue at the community forum, board members distributed a list of 17 potential “budget optimization ideas,” including instructional program reductions, district staff cuts, outsourcing of services (transportation, food services, buildings and grounds), elimination of kindergarten, reduced athletic funding, reduced extracurricular opportunties, etc.

“We’d like to cut nothing, but we’re obviously going to have to cut something,” board member Dr. David Locastro said.“Some tough choices need to be made,” agreed guest moderator Matt Moses, a Marcellus parent and resident.For the next two hours, district residents, parents and students took turns asking questions, offering suggestions and tendering passionate defenses of favorite programs.Suggestions included:

• using fund balance to create staff retirement incentives;


• forming a citizens’ exploratory committee with neighboring districts, to consider shared services;


• refinancing district debt loans;


• presenting a progression of budgets and cuts over the last 10 to 15 years to give taxpayers some historical context (See chart below.);


• extending kindergarten to full-day to garner more state aid. (District Business Administrator Debra Eichholtz cautioned the move would provide only a temporary spike in state aid next year, followed by a reduction the following year and a leveling-off the year after, due to adjustments in pupil counts.);


• opening all union contracts; asking employees to shoulder more salary cuts;


• eliminating duplicate district mailings to multiple-student homes;


• using district amenities (auditoriums, stadium) to generate income;


• forming a tax-exempt education foundation;


• providing the specific fiscal impacts, i.e. dollar amounts, of the budget optimization ideas. (Those figures will be available at the next community budget forum, Feb. 15.)

Marcellus Superintendent Dr. Craig J. Tice encouraged forum attendees to reach out to state lawmakers and demand equitable school funding and unfunded mandate relief.

“Our elected officials are not our enemies, but they do need to be our advocates,” Dr. Tice said.