Mineola School Board Holds Final Budget Workshop

With less than 24 hours before the vote on the budget for the 2011-12 school year, the Mineola Board of Education held a final workshop session at the to review the multimillion dollar proposal as well as any repercussions the vote would have for the upcoming year.

The , an increase in spending of about $4 million, or a 5.11 percent budget to budget increase.

The percentage increase is inflated due to the inclusion of a $2.6 million transfer to capital for the , which, if taken out, puts the actual spending increase at about 1.8 percent. The tax levy is set at 2.37 percent higher than last year.

The district will also be receiving about $250,000 less in federal money this year due to a deferral from the AARA job relief act which was taken during 2010-11 instead of 2009-10.

If the budget were to fail, the district would adopt a contingency budget, . The district would first remove the and projects, placing the money back in the reserve fund for the following year after July 1, as well as all equipment.

Superintendent Dr. Michael Nagler said the major difference between that night’s presentation and was that there is now $26,000 leftover in contingency which would be spent for some additional equipment for the high school art room. The district planned on spending this money anyway, he said.

“It makes it a little cleaner that if the budget were to fail, these three items come out we go to contingency,” Dr. Nagler said.

Even if the budget were to go to contingency, there would be no cuts in programs.

Some of the additions to the district’s education program for 2011-12 include elementary .

There are two methods for teaching foreign language on the lower grade levels. The first is a fully immersive program where half the day is taught in the foreign language and the other way is by introducing several languages including French, Spanish and “possibly” another language to he students over time.

Dr. Nagler said parents should have the choice of “opting into” a full language immersion program and would like to see it expand to the other grades over time. District foreign language teachers are currently visiting other districts who have the immersion program in place to become familiar with it.

“As they move through the grades they’ll have language with them,” Dr. Nagler said of the students. “(The way) we teach language... is backwards than the rest of the world. The studies show that language acquisition is best when you’re young.”

Foreign language currently starts in seventh grade, but will not be offered next year for two reasons: lack of space and the inability to earn credit.

Keyboarding classes would be moved to the third grade and the program would be as well as some seventh and fifth grade classes, specifically co-teacher classes with IEP’s because the devices were purchased with federal moneys for those students.

Eighth graders would have a double period of algebra allowing them to earn high school credit.

“We typically only did that for two classes when they were in the middle school,” Dr. Nagler said.

Curriculum would also change to “flip-flop” earth science to ninth grade and living environment (biology) to tenth.

“It’s a little better flow for us,” Dr. Nagler said. “The eighth grade curriculum is physical science curriculum so to follow that with earth science makes more sense than following it with a life science.”

The move also allows for the expansion of AP science, currently offered every other year, to be offered every year.

Facilities upgrades include a new varsity softball field at the high school at the south parking lot in the space affectionately known as the cow pasture. The high school tennis courts would be converted to a parking lot, there would be  new equipment for the fitness center at the high school and new storage cabinet would be added to the high school art room.

The district would also continue its musical instrument replacement program and obtain additional equipment for its science research programs.