Dundee is unsure of school budget revenue

DUNDEE—The first overview of the expenditure budget for the 2011-12 Dundee Central School District was presented to the board of education on Thursday, Feb. 10.
District Business Manager Melissa Lawson reviewed the executive summary. The total proposed overall spending plan for 2011-12 is $13,883,227. The figure is $34,373 or a .25 percent increase over the current spending plan of $13,848,854. Revenue is expected to be down.
At this point, the projection is a 10.2 percent increase in the tax levy. Lawson said, “We know that is not acceptable.” Lawson said the district is lucky in light of some neighboring districts. The first portion of building aid will be received in the 2011-12 school year. Lawson said, “We are coming to you to ask where we go from here.”
Increases included in the budget for K-12 instruction, regular school, health services, psychological and social work services. The document outlined decreases in spending for Instructional Supervision, Special Education, Computer Assisted Instruction Occupational Education and Interscholastic Athletics.
Lawson outlined the amounts of increases and decreases and the reasons for each. Superintendent of Schools Kathy Ring said some changes in staffing may be needed. Following the meeting, Ring said at this time she does not know how many or which positions would be affected.
Board of Education President Joseph Capurso suggested a workshop  could look at district reserves and what kind of acceleration can be put on shared services. A meeting of the board of education will probably be needed on Feb. 24.