First School Budget Proposal Calls For 3.21 Percent Increase

Tuesday's meeting of the Garden City Board of Education was the first in what will be a series of meetings to form a budget proposal for the 2010-11 school year.

Dr. Robert Feirsen, superintendent of the Garden City School District, presented in this first proposal, which he called a "working document," a budget of $98,275,256, which is $3,059,669 (3.21 percent) more than last year's budget.

Dr. Feirsen said he based this proposal starting with the school district's mission statement: "The Garden City School District seeks to create an environment for learning which enables each student the opportunity to grow as an individual as well as a group member while striving to achieve the optimal level of academic, social and personal success," he said.

Combining salary and benefits, roughly $77 million - or 78 percent, of the district's budget goes to teachers, according to Assistant Superintendent Al Chase.

"That really tells you that this is a labor intensive business," Chase said.

"A lot of the things we start with are givens," Dr. Feirsen said in reference to teacher salaries. The superintendent said that this is a necessary part of budget planning because of the importance of a teacher-student connection in education.

Dr. Feirsen said that this year's budget reflects the status of the national and state economies. "We are very obviously acutely aware of the budget climate, the fiscal climate," he said. "We're also aware of New York state projections for aid."

Under Governor David Paterson's budget proposal, many schools will be losing money in the next fiscal year. According to Chase's estimates for Garden City, the district will lose 13.29 percent of state aid, which amounts to $602,933. Chase said that state aid only accounts for five percent of the district's funds.

"I don't want to be a Debbie Downer and tell you the sky is falling, because it's not," Dr. Feirsen said. "The district has survived challenges in the past; it will continue to survive."

Without more help from the state, residents will have to pay more for the budget through property taxes should they approve the budget.

"Property taxes are really the lion's share of revenue that we receive," Chase said.

To close the first budget session, Dr. Feirsen spoke directly to residents in the audience: "I've never had a budget season where anyone came to me and said, 'We've got a ton of money this year, how do you want to spend it?'" he said.

"We will do the best that we can," Dr. Feirsen continued. "It's essential to have your honest and open input. This is the first part of a multi-step process."

The next school budget-related work sessions/meetings are scheduled as follows:

Tuesday, Feb. 23: Budget Work Session #2 – All Non-Instructional areas/Administrative and Capital Components, Regular Work Session 

Tuesday, March 2: Budget Work Session #3 - Instructional Components

Tuesday, March 9: Regular Work Session, Budget Work Session #4 - Instructional Components/Wrap Up

Tuesday, March 23: Regular Board Meeting, Final Adjustments and Refinements (if needed)

Tuesday, April 13: Regular Work Session, Additional Budget Review and Discussion (if needed)

Monday, April 19: Regular Board Meeting, Adoption of District Budget and BOCES Budget

Wednesday, April 21: Submission of Property Tax Report Card to State Ed. Department

Monday, May 3: Distribution of Budget to Individual Schools, Public Library

Tuesday, May 11: Budget Hearing

Wednesday, May 12: Mailing of budget notice to eligible voters

Tuesday, May 18: Budget Vote