D I S T R I C T S C H O O L C E N T R A L
A Guide to Understanding the Budget Process
Perfectly blending
ACADEMICS, ATHLETICS
and the
ARTS
Superintendent’s Message Dear Community Members,
We are pleased to be able to provide you with this budget handbook, which was designed to clarify some of the questions you have asked either at Board of Education meetings or in personal conversations. It is the intention of the Board of Education and District administration to continue our policy of openness and transparency with all constituents. We hope you will find this handbook informative. Sincerely,
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Inside this handbook... About Half Hollow Hills ..... 4-5 What’s the purpose of the budget? ...................... 6 What are the budget goals? ....................... 6 What are the challenges for 2010/11? ......................... 6-7 What’s a contingency budget? ................................. 7 What will happen if the budget doesn’t pass? ........... 7 How is the proposed budget developed? ............... 8 What does the District do to safeguard taxpayers? .......... 9 Impact of State aid cuts ........................ 10-11 District bond rating ............ 12 2010/11 voting information .......................... 12 3
About Half Hollow Hills‌ The District maintains 14 buildings occupying approximately1.5 million square feet, covering over 300 acres of property, including over 35 athletic fields.
Universal transportation for District students requires over 85 buses. (We make approximately 510 trips daily – 255 twice a day.) Special needs routes require an additional 38 mini buses, and transportation to out-of-district, private and parochial schools necessitates the use of an additional 48 buses. The District also transports students for technical schools, cultural and educational events and athletics, and provides after-school activity buses for all grade levels The District employs 52 administrators (Central Office and all buildings), 850 full-time teachers, 14 part-time teachers and 792 non-certificated employees – including clericals, custodians, maintenance, monitors, paraprofessionals, food service, bus drivers, security guards and technology staff. High School East and High School West have over 60 clubs, including an Internet Club, Literary Magazine and Environmental Club. Opportunities in art include a full range of electives, clubs and art service clubs. Music opportunities include marching band, jazz band, orchestra, chorus and theater performances for grades 5-12. The high schools and middle schools each present fall and spring productions, and the fifth graders present a joint production under the title Hills on Stage. A wide variety of interscholastic sports teams are fielded. There are 133 different teams throughout the District, representing 28 different sports at the high school level and 17 at the middle school level. Many teams are recognized by New York State as Scholar-Athlete teams. 4
Triple-A District: Our students and our schools excel on every level – in Academics, Athletics and the Arts. • Standard & Poor’s Outperforming School District • New York Excelsior Award • Commissioner’s List of High-Achieving Gap-Closing Schools: High School East, High School West, Candlewood, West Hollow • Our high schools offer 25 AP courses with 130 available electives • Model program for children with autism • Rising Star Program: ensuring a high level of success for socio-economically disadvantaged and minority students • Highly regarded research program • Triple-A District: perfectly blending academics, athletics and the arts • World-class theater programs for elementary, middle school and high school students • Multiple Award winners of the Prestigious Long Island Arts Alliance Scholar-Artist Awards • Suffolk County Championships in basketball, soccer, football, swimming/diving, track and wrestling • 2009 SCMEA All-County Concerts: highest number of participants in grades 5-10
Half Hollow Hills student achievement levels are among the highest on Long Island; Per-pupil spending is among the lowest on Long Island. 5
What is the purpose of the budget? To meet the educational and fiscal goals of the District by supporting the educational mission, planning for the operational needs of the District and maintaining financial integrity.
What are the budget goals? • To maximize the achievement of all students by strengthening our districtwide professional learning community • To develop, deliver and implement a budget that strengthens and maximizes all of our resources while being fiscally responsible to our taxpayers • To improve communication between and among all stakeholders • To ensure equitable opportunities and optimal outcomes for ALL students • To continue to review our elementary, middle and high school programs to ensure consonance with the latest research on educational excellence and 21st century learning • To embrace technology as a tool to strengthen teaching and learning, and to effectively manage all District data • To continue to address demographics and space needs to ensure exemplary learning environments for all students • To support the physical and mental health and well-being of all District students and staff • To continue to upgrade the safety, appearance, functionality and energy efficiency of all District buildings and grounds
What are the challenges for 2010/11? • To run an efficient system without negatively impacting programs for our students • New York State’s economic crisis • The governor’s gap elimination adjustment, if approved, would reduce our State aid by $2.7 million. • A proposed mandate to reduce State funding for summer special education services from 80 percent to 22.5 percent. This would cost Half Hollow Hills an additional $673,000. This proposal is not included in our current budget. 6
• A proposed mandate for districts to fund a portion of preschool special education costs currently funded by NYS and Suffolk County. This proposal is not included in our current budget. • A new mandate, added last year, to implement an employer payroll tax on businesses, municipalities, not-for-profits and school districts, to bail out MTA. This has cost Half Hollow Hills over $400,000 in 2009/10. The District has been promised reimbursement but none has been received to date.
What is a contingency budget? Under State law, school districts can submit a budget to voters a maximum of two times. If the proposed budget is defeated twice, the Board must adopt a contingency budget. The Board also has the option of going directly to a contingency budget immediately after a budget defeat. Under a contingency budget, the District may not increase spending by more than 120 percent of the Consumer Price Index or 4.0 percent over last year’s budget, whichever is lower. As per the New York State Education Department, the contingency budget formula cap for 2010/11 is 0 percent. This would require budget cuts totaling over $6 million.
What will happen if the 2010/11 budget doesn’t pass? Required cuts from the proposed budget would include equipment, buses, capital project expenditures, student supplies and uniforms, and community use of facilities. The required cuts would not be enough to meet the contingency budget cap. In order to meet this cap, the District would need to make additional reductions which would significantly impact the instructional, extra-curricular, music, art, administrative, athletic, and community programs.
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How is the proposed budget developed? Throughout the year, the Board of Education Budget Sub-Committee meets and performs a line-by-line analysis of the entire budget. From July through September, the Business Office works diligently to close the financials from the previous fiscal year. The District’s external auditors independently review the financials from the previous fiscal year, and a review and analysis begins for the current year’s fiscal responsibilities. On a monthly basis beginning in September, the PTA Budget Committee reviews the current year’s budget. The committee includes community members representing the various schools throughout the District, Board of Education members and Central Administration. This is a line-by-line analysis of every budgeted dollar in the District. In October, preparations for the following year’s budget begins. The Board of Education adopts a budget calendar providing a timeline for Central Administration and the Board to meet. The Business Office also disseminates budget development packets to all pertinent staff. In November, proposals for equipment purchases and plant and capital project requests are provided to the Business Office. In December, equipment, plant and capital project requests are reviewed with building principals. In January, projections for the next school year’s staffing are analyzed, along with enrollment projections. In February, Central Office reviews a first draft of the budget. Detailed analyses of all projections take place and necessary revisions are made. The budget is then presented to the Board of Education by March 1. Budget work sessions with the Board of Education and community are held beginning in March. The Board of Education and Central Administration continue an in-depth analysis of the proposed budget. The PTA Budget Committee provides input at the monthly meeting. The Board of Education officially adopts a budget in April. Details of the projected budget are presented during April and May. Information regarding the proposed budget is disseminated to the entire community during the weeks preceding the budget vote in May. 8
What does the District do to safeguard taxpayer dollars? The Half Hollow Hills School District recognizes and understands that we have a responsibility to ensure that tax money is spent efficiently and effectively. Our primary objective is to provide the best education for our children in keeping with our commitment to honesty, integrity and transparency. These are some of the internal controls that are in place to safeguard taxpayer and State aid dollars: • Positive audit from NYS Comptroller. In 2009, Half Hollow Hills was the only district on Long Island and one of only six in the state to receive a positive NYS Comptroller's audit. • The Board of Education exercises careful oversight concerning all of the District’s financial transactions. • The Board of Education, as well as the administrative staff, has attended numerous workshops that focused on internal controls. • The Board of Education has adopted additional policies governing the financial management and operation of the District. • The District maintains strict segregation of duties. This is to ensure that the assets of the District are safeguarded. • Three individuals (minimum) are required to process checks. • Two individuals (minimum) are required to authorize wire transfers. • Bank reconciliations are performed monthly by an individual outside of the cash receipts and cash disbursements functions. • Payroll audits are performed for every biweekly payroll. • Two approvals (minimum) are required to process all purchase order requests. • The District follows all NYS regulations, which include the hiring of an independent claims auditor, internal auditor and external auditor.
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Governor's Proposal Could Cost HHH Over $4 Million Over the past months, the District has taken an active role in opposing both cuts to State aid for our schools and the implementation of any new unfunded mandates, which place a financial burden on taxpayers.
• Governor’s proposed gap elimination adjustment to Half Hollow Hills: $2.7 million • Governor’s proposed shift of preschool and summer special education costs from the State/County to Half Hollow Hills: $1.0 million • Governor’s imposition of an employer tax on all businesses including school districts to fill MTA payroll tax: $400,000 • Total cost of governor’s proposal to Half Hollow Hills: Over $4 million
“A good education may be okay in some districts, but our standards are much higher. How can we maintain the resources to hire the best and brightest teachers, to provide university level professional development, afford students and staff with the opportunity to work with state-ofthe-art technologies and maintain quality facilities and fields when annual cuts continually jeopardize our budget?” - Superintendent Dr. Sheldon Karnilow
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A recent letter to Governor Paterson from Superintendent Dr. Sheldon Karnilow March 17, 2010 Governor David A. Paterson State Capitol Albany, NY 12224 Dear Governor Paterson: Every budget report issued acknowledges that mandates are a significant factor in the growth of school district expenses and the reports call for no unfunded mandates. Your proposal has indicated a reduction in unfunded mandates. Yet, also in your budget is a proposal to shift summer school special education expenses (currently funded through the State at 80 percent) to school districts. This contradictory proposal would cost taxpayers in the Half Hollow Hills Central School District an additional $673,000. This proposal would allow the State to lower their costs, while significantly increasing school district expenses. Although school districts were told that the MTA Tax would be reimbursed, we have yet to receive one dime while being forced to make continued payments. We request that this employer tax be immediately repealed. All school districts are entitled to have the State support a fair share of their expenses. Long Island pays the highest property tax in the United States. Long Island educates 17 percent of all public school children residing in New York State, but only receives 12 percent of the State aid pie. We cannot continue to impose new tax burdens on our residents who are already making a great local effort on behalf of their schools. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely,
Dr. Sheldon Karnilow Superintendent of Schools
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Our District Bond Rating Bond rating is an independent evaluation of a bond issuer. It is based on an analysis of the issuer's financial condition and asset base. Bond rating services are provided by, among others, Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service. Moody's Investors Service has assigned an Aa2 rating to the Half Hollow Hills Central School District. This rating is given to bonds that are judged to be of high quality by all standards. The Aa2 rating reflects the District's substantial Suffolk County tax base, solid financial position and below average debt burden. Moody's believes the District's substantial $13.6 billion tax base will remain stable, and expects that the District's financial position will remain strong, given our prudent budgeting practices and effective management of our reserve.
Half Hollow Hills 2010/11 Budget Vote Tuesday, May 18 High School East 7 a.m.-10 p.m. If you are not registered to vote, you may do so on any school day at the District Clerk’s office. Special Voter Registration Saturday, May 1, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, May 12, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Last Day to Register Wednesday, May 12 District Clerk’s office Absentee Ballots Applications must be received by May 11 if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or by May 17 if ballot is to be picked up in person. Absentee ballots must be cast by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18.