The fiscal plan capitalizes on staff retirements and already vacant posts that will remain empty; limits the number of enrollment-driven layoffs; and cuts some BOCES services and supplies.
Residents also will elect three members to the Board of Education and vote on a proposed budget increase for the Marcellus Free Library.
Throughout the 2012-13 budget process, the district sought feedback from residents – through budget forums, town meetings and a website survey – about how best to balance the costs and benefits of a well-rounded Marcellus education.
Marcellus initially faced a projected budget shortfall of $2.76 million, due to a $356,905 loss in state aid and an estimated $945,906 increase in expenses. In March, administrators notified 56 teachers and teacher assistants they could face layoffs July 1.
But after months of community input and budget analysis, administrators and the Board of Education members drafted a plan that instead cuts some BOCES services and supplies ($248,562); eliminates 12 full-time positions through retirements and resignations (two elementary teachers, one high school art teacher and a middle school special education teacher, three custodians, two secretaries and two BOCES support staff positions); reduces three administrators’ posts from 12-month positions to 11 months; and cuts 4.2 full-time equivalent positions in English, science, business, special education and BOCES support services.
“I believe we’ve delivered a plan that preserves the academic opportunities our community has come to expect from Marcellus, while staying sensitive to the economic challenges now faced by taxpayers,” Superintendent Dr. Craig J. Tice said. “We scrutinized the budget from every angle to find places to trim.”
The district also combined 10 modified sports teams into five, although the Marcellus Central School District All Sports Booster Club hopes to help restore that funding.
The district will pay for its expenses, which have increased most in the areas of employee pension and health insurance benefits, in part with a proposed tax levy of $16,875,861, which is an increase of $358,458, or 2.17 percent, over the current school tax levy. (The levy is the total amount of revenue raised through local property taxes.) The proposed budget also includes about $11.6 million in state aid, a 0.4 percent increase from 2011-12, and the use of about $1.3 million in fund balance and reserves, which is 4.3 percent less than was used in 2011-12.
The district offset some of its revenue losses by cutting $248,562 in BOCES services and $302,876 in equipment, conferences and supplies. Additional savings were made through retirements ($266,659) and staffing reductions ($144,745), including the trimming of three assistant principal level jobs. These three assistant principals, whose jobs are listed as either coordinator or director level administrative positions, will work one less month during the summer of 2012-13.
The district’s athletic director position, set to become vacant in December when Brad Dates retires, remains fully funded in the budget and may be filled in the future.
“This proposed budget represents a true team effort on the part of administrators, Board of Education members and some dedicated Marcellus residents,” Dr. Tice said. “Everybody was willing to roll up their sleeves and get some chalk dust on their hands, if it meant saving jobs and preserving excellence in our schools.”
Click here to read the the Marcellus 2012-13 budget newsletter.
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