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Date Posted: Wednesday, January 20, 04:12:51pm
Author: Citizen
Subject: More info from www.rep-am.com
In reply to: Very concerned 's message, "New Hartford Superintendent hands out 9.35% and 4.91% budget increases" on Friday, January 15, 09:03:38am

New Hartford education proposal would cut jobs

BY KARI BANACH
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

January 20, 2010

NEW HARTFORD — Six teaching jobs will be cut and class sizes will increase if the Board of Education adopts the school chief’s $7.7 million budget unveiled Tuesday.

Superintendent Philip O’Reilly said the draft spending plan for this top-performing, 613-student district is grim, but necessary to keep taxes in check and preserve academic programs.

The proposal for fiscal year 2010-11, which begins July 1, reflects a $360,598, or 4.9 percent, increase over this year’s $7.4 million budget.

Teacher cutbacks are proposed to avoid what officials estimated would be a 9.35 percent spending increase should staffing levels remain stable.

Officials are aiming to offset a $212,684 increase in employees’ Anthem benefits, 6.3 percent contracted raises for teachers, and a $104,223 hike in transportation costs.

“I don’t think a 9.3 percent increase would be acceptable in this economic environment, or ever,” O’Reilly said.

Historically, administrators at the K-6 district’s schools — New Hartford Elementary, Bakerville Consolidated and Ann Antolini — have scaled back spending on programming in order to maintain class sizes, O’Reilly said.

“In the past couple of years, we have taken such hits in so many areas of the budget,” O’Reilly said. “I felt that further nickel and diming would have a greater impact on students and on our program than the reduction of teachers.”

In the proposal, O’Reilly eliminated one teacher from each grade level except grades 4 and 6, which have the most students. In addition, he cut back hours of part-time staffers to eliminate the equivalent of a sixth teaching job, the budget shows.

Enrollment is expected to drop next year from 627 to 613 students. But with fewer teachers, class sizes will increase from 14-22 to 18-24 students, projections show.

If the layoffs are approved, teacher salaries would decrease overall by 2.1 percent, from $2.5 million to $2.46 million.

The Board of Education has less control over the other large cost increases it faces.

The $104,223 growth in transportation costs reflects increased rates from bus company Dattco. Additionally, New Hartford will see a 30 percent increase from Anthem for employee health insurance.

If the school board balks at eliminating staff, O’Reilly said the district’s “specials” program — Spanish, art, music, technology and physical education — could be cut instead.

“The board may come up with some strategies or alternative considerations,” said school board Chairman Susan E. Lundin. “We’ll have to have many conversations about this.”

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