Mineola Board of Ed Adopts 2011-12 Budget

Despite increasing the amount in spending, the tax levy for the Mineola School District 2011-12 budget has actually come down from 2.44 percent to 2.37 percent.

Unveiled during a lengthy meeting last Thursday night in the cafeteria of the , the total 2011-12 budget is $84,221,638, representing an increase of $4,093,065 in spending or a 5.11 percent hike. The 2010-11 budget totaled $80,128,73.

Included in the 2011-12 budget is $2.6 million of transfer to capital for the Meadow Drive project and the . There is no effect on the tax levy to pay for the Hampton project.

Accounting for the transfers, the adjusted budget is $81,596,427 and therefore a $1,467,854 increase or a 1.83 percent hike.

Superintendent of Finance Jack Waters said that budget increased by about $200,000 from the . The increases are in four areas: a $50,000 increase in primary insurance for which Waters is still waiting for a final number; two special ed lines – private tuition and contract services for special education – by $50,000 each; and a $20,000 hike in workers’ compensation.

In terms of revenue, the district is anticipating receiving $5,216,831 in state aid, $8,46,780 in NEXTEL aid and $1.23 million in other income including the of the  for a total of almost $7.3 million.

Waters said that due to the , Mineola received an additional $130,000 in state aid from the original proposal by . Without including the Federal job aid money, Mineola experienced a state aid reduction of approximately $140,000.

This year the district also chose to use education job funds money in 2011-12 rather than 2010-11. “So we did have an increase in our state aid for the 11-12 year, not as dire as we first anticipated,” Waters said.

The 2011-12 tax levy – what the District will ask the community to contribute – would be $74,798,377, an increase of $1,734,364 over 2010-11, or 2.37 percent. It is the fourth year in a row that Mineola has put forth a tax levy increase under 2.5 percent.

“Those are big numbers,” Superintendent Dr. Michael Nagler said moving onto the contingent budget numbers.

If the budget were to fail at the polls, the district would be required to make about $2.8 million in cuts to arrive at a contingency budget of $81,429,705. The formula for determining a contingency budget is to take the current year’s budget and subtract debt payments to arrive at the adjusted base budget – $76,833,712.  The consumer price index (1.92) is multiplied by 120 percent to deduce the percentage the budget is allowed to be increased. Debt is then added back in to arrive at the contingency figure.

In order to arrive at the $2.8 million in contingency reductions, the district would remove both the Hampton and Meadow projects if the budget failed, as well as equipment and an additional $26,565 which is yet to be determined.

“We can make up that $26,000 in another line in the budget without affecting programs,” Dr. Nagler said. “So even if the budget were to fail, programs are still safe for this year.”

The money for the Hampton and Meadow projects would go back out out vote as a separate ballot which will happen after July 1. If that vote fails, the Willis Avenue School would become the South school in .

The budget was adopted by a vote of three-to-none with Trustees John McGrath and Irene Parrino abstaining from the vote.