Penn Yan details new budget

PENN YAN--The Penn Yan Board of Education listened to school officials outline the revenue and expense details of their upcoming 2018-19 budget Wednesday, March 21. Assistant Superintendent for Business Cathy Milliman said they are still waiting for the last details of state aid in order to finalize the process. However, she said the updates now will be very close to the final numbers.
Milliman said the overall budget is at $36,006,183 which is a 2.39 percent increase over the 2017-18 total. That's an increase of $840,030. Milliman said the current tax cap for Penn Yan is 2.81 percent and the tax levy amount with the current numbers is 2.90 percent. Milliman said the final state aid money should bring the budget numbers to the desired state cap level.
The school board plans to adopt the proposed budget at their next meeting, April 11. A public hearing for the new budget will be held Wednesday, May 2. The annual school vote for the budget and school board candidates will be held between the hours of 12 noon and 8 p.m at the Penn Yan gymnasium Tuesday, May 15.
In addition to voting for the budget and school board candidates, a proposition is also on the May ballot for transportation vehicles. The district plans to purchase and finance five student transport vehicles at an estimated cost not to exceed $395,000 including necessary furnishings, fixtures and equipment.
For school board candidates, there are three three-year terms to be filled and one two-year unexpired term available. Petitions nominating candidates for a board position must be filed with the district clerk no later than 5 p.m., Monday, April 16.
For programs next year, the district wants to improve student enrichment. They plan to repurpose two current staff members' schedules (one from the academy and one from the elementary school ) to add a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) enrichment class and also improve math enrichment at the elementary school. Additionally, they will use a physical education intern to explain the dangers of drugs and other risk factors for students.
The district plans to start a 12:1:1 program (Special Class Staffing Ratio 12:1:1)
• No more than twelve (12) students per class
• One full-time special education teacher
• One full-time paraprofessional
(A 12:1:1 program serves students whose academic and/or behavioral management needs interfere with the instructional process, to the extent that additional adult support is needed to engage in learning and who require specialized/specially designed instruction which can best be accomplished in a self-contained setting)
With this new Penn Yan class, the district plans to bring a student or two back from BOCES and offer an additional level of programming, saving money in the long run. The district will hire a new teacher and a teacher's assistant for this program. The district is also working toward getting some 'Project Lead the Way' courses in the middle school. No additional cost is projected for the district.
Penn Yan plans to increase their physical education instruction to improve adaptive special education services. They are also planning to hire a full-time music teacher since the district has been unable to recruit a teacher to come in as a part-time music teacher. Penn Yan also plans to continue use of their personalized learning coach, a position held by a retired staff member. The coach, kept at 15-20 hours per week, offers support to the staff and students.
Breakage from retirements and not filling the psych intern position will support these costs. The district expects to save $50,000 for the general budget after putting these changes into effect.
In other school news:
The Penn Yan Elementary Drama production, 'Giants in the Sky,' is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, April 19-20 at 6:30 p.m.