2015-2016 Proposed Budget - Greenville Central School District

MAY 2015
GREENVILLE
CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
Newsletter
BUDGET VOTE
Tuesday, May 19
1:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Scott M. Ellis Elementary
School Cafeteria
Ballot Items:
➤ Proposed 2015-2016 School Budget
➤ Board of Education Elections
➤ Public Library — Rensselaerville
ur Greenville Central School
2015-2016 proposed budget
is a fiscal plan that will provide
an education focused on the
whole child by offering rigorous
academic options for students
of all abilities and supporting the
social, emotional and physical
needs of our students.
The budget was developed
and completed with input from
stakeholders at a series of public workshops during January
through March. In the collaborative budget development
process, we have worked diligently to keep students as the
focus and center of this budget
while being fiscally responsible to our taxpayers.
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(Continued on page 2)
www.greenville.k12.ny.us
2015-2016 Proposed Budget
G R EEN V IL L E C E N T R A L S C H O O L D I S T R I C T
(Continued from front cover)
We are proud of our students, their achievements,
their commitment and hard work as reflected in our
high school completion rate of 99%. The investment
by all of our school district communities ensures the
opportunity for a bright future for our students with
the choices of post-graduation career, college and/or
workplace options.
The proposed budget increase of .57% with a tax
levy of 1.8% maintains current programming for students and also addresses the need to continue
development of reserve funds. This includes all current academic programs, services for children with
special needs and instructional support, Career and
Technical Education (CTE), the fine and performing arts
and athletics. These are provided currently and
prospectively ensuring educational program stability
and district financial predictability into the future. With
a budget plan that ensures access and support for our
students for success in our educational programs the
pathway to their future is open for their choice at the
local or larger community in the world of their future.
The District Continues to Recognize Ongoing Efficiencies
Greenville Central School continues to seek other sources of revenue and to reduce costs through
shared services with other districts and/or working collaboratively with BOCES. Examples include:
• RCG Health Insurance Trust – The District participates in a
consortium of 23 districts to increase purchasing power
and lower rates
• Workers Compensation Consortium
• Questar III BOCES Central Business Office
• DCMO (Delaware Chenango Madison Otsego) BOCES
cooperative purchasing of materials and services
• Pupil Personnel Administrator intermunicipal agreement
with Windham-Ashland-Jewett School District for Special
Education Administration Services
• Food Services Director intermunicipal agreement with
Berne-Knox-Westerlo School District
• Tuition Revenue intermunicipal agreement for student
enrollment
• Shared Summer Special Education Transportation Routes
with neighboring school districts
• Electricity Bid (3 Districts) –
Fixed price for 3 years with estimated savings of 10%
• Fuel Bid (DCMO) BOCES – Fixed price for the 15/16 school year
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Smart Schools
Bond Act of 2014
n November 4, 2014 New York voters
approved the Smart Schools Bond Act,
providing $2 billion in funding for classroom technology and internet connectivity.
As part of this Act, Greenville Central
School is scheduled to receive $1,058,561.
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Districts are required to submit a “Smart
Schools Investment Plan” to a review
Board. The plan will describe how the district will use the funds. In developing such
investment plans, school districts are
required to consult with parents, teachers,
students, community members and other
stakeholders.
2015 – 2016 Public Library Proposal
Rensselaerville Public Library
Increase
$21,548.00
$22,044.00
$496.00
(Separate proposition[s] are required for each town library. As a point of
information, the action by the voters is for the amount of only the increase.
Therefore, if the resolution is defeated, the funding is maintained at the
level from the previous year in the amount of $21,548.00. The Greenville
Public Library did not request an appropriation increase and therefore a
proposition on the ballot is not required.)
While New York State increased state aid over the previous year; the State continues to withhold funding from
our District through the GAP Elimination Adjustment.
This law was first introduced in the 2010-11 fiscal year
by Governor Paterson. Under the legislation, a portion of
the funding shortfall at the state level is divided among
all school districts throughout the state and reflected as
a reduction in a district’s state aid. The chart has been
updated to illustrate the impact of the GAP Elimination
Adjustment for the Greenville Central School District for
2010-16. As a result of the GAP Elimination Adjustment,
$6,407,345 of state aid has been withheld from Greenville
Central School District.
STATE AID: History of aid lost to GAP Elimination
Adjustments (GEA). (Aid withheld from GCSD)
(913,982)
2011-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ (1,620,679)
2012-13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ (1,441,172)
2013-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ (1,078,568)
2014-15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ (845,645)
Total to Date: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ (5,900,046)
2015-16 Adopted Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . $
2015-2016
Proposed
(RESOLVED that the Board of Education of the Greenville Central
School District is hereby authorized to increase by $496.00, for a total
of $22,044.00, the amount to be raised by tax for the support of the
Rensselaerville Library.)
The GAP Elimination Adjustment (GEA)
2010-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $
2014-2015
(507,299)
Grand Total of Lost Revenue . . . . . . . . . . $ (6,407,345)
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G R EEN V IL L E C E N T R A L S C H O O L D I S T R I C T
2015-2016 Proposed Budget
The Proposed Budget for the 2015-2016 School Year is $28,771,929. This represents
a budget increase of ($163,925) .57% and a tax levy increase of ($285,202) 1.8%.
Program Component: This includes all instructional
expenses including regular instruction, education of the disabled,
occupational education and summer school. Also included are
pupil services such as health and guidance, library, co-curricular,
athletics, transportation, associated fringe benefit expenses, legal
and community service expenses.
2015-2016 Program Component: $22,481,139 (78%)
Expenses:
Program
78%
Administrative Component: This provides funding for
the majority of the instructional support services including professional staff members who spend 50% or more of their time in
administration and supervision, clerical staff for administrators,
public relations, central printing, curriculum development and
supervision, research planning and evaluation, central data processing, tax collection, legal services and school board costs.
2015-2016 Administrative Component: $2,562,290 (9%)
Administration
9%
Capital Component: This includes operations and
maintenance of buildings and grounds, debt service on
buildings, leases, school bus purchases, tax certiorari and courtordered costs.
2015-2016 Capital Component: $3,728,500 (13%)
Revenues:
Real Estate Taxes
50%
State Aid
39%
Star
Reimbursement
6%
All Other Revenues
5%
Revenue Sources: The two main sources of revenue for a school
district are state aid and real estate taxes. The anticipated state aid
for the proposed 2015-2016 budget is 39% of the total revenue.
These state aid totals do not include the STAR program reimbursement which represents approximately 6% of the total revenue.
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Capital
13%
Government Efficiency Plans: Property Tax Freeze Credit
T
he Property Tax Freeze Credit for qualified homeowners
was established by State Law in 2014. The new law
encourages local governments and school districts to generate long-term tax relief for New York State taxpayers by:
• sharing services;
• consolidating or merging; and
• demonstrating and implementing operational efficiencies.
Greenville Central School is complying with the cap
and will be filing an Efficiency Plan seeking approval from
the Division of Budget.
“Eligible homeowners do not need to do anything to
receive the credit. The Tax Department will review eligibility data and calculate the credit for all qualifying taxing
jurisdictions. In the Fall of each of the program's three
years (2014, 2015, 2016), the department will mail eligible
taxpayers a single check that will be the total of the credits for each jurisdiction that is in compliance”.
Year 1 (2014-2015)
Greenville Central School complied with the property
tax cap requirement and our STAR-eligible taxpayers
received a rebate in the fall of 2014.
This rebate credit was equal to the greater of 2014-15
increase in school taxes or 1.46% x 2013-14 school tax bill.
Excerpt from New York State Property Tax Freeze Credit Fact Sheet.
Year 2 (2015-2016)
School districts must comply with the property tax cap
and file a Government Efficiency Plan by June 1, 2015 that
is determined to be compliant by the State Division of
Budget. The plan must show a savings of one percent of
the District’s 2014 tax levy in each of the following three
years. The credits will be determined based on the tax
paid in year two and the tax paid in the baseline year.
Budget Advisory Committee
Recommendation to Board of Education – 2015-16 Budget
ommend that the Board of Education use part
of the additional revenues to support the
Reserve Funds. We also recommend that the
Board of Education consider approving requests
to purchase needed equipment, as proposed by
the departments, with one-time savings.
n March 24, 2015, the Budget Advisory
Committee reviewed a proposed 2015/2016
School Budget totaling $28,781,903. The BAC
believes the 1.8% tax levy increase in the proposed budget balances the needs of taxpayers
by being below the “2% property tax cap.” It also
balances the needs of students by preserving
educational programs. Overall, we felt that the
proposed budget was the best roadmap that
could be provided given the current environment.
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In preparing the above recommendation, the
BAC aimed to balance the needs of students,
taxpayers and the community. Unfortunately, the
process this year became a frustrating exercise
of gazing into a crystal ball to predict decisions
that NY State officials might make. As you
know, NY State is holding school districts to an
April 24th deadline to approve budgets, but is
unwilling to commit to providing state aid in a
timely fashion. In fact, there continues to be discussion about holding back school funding
figures until June 1, 2015. That would be 13
days AFTER the public votes on May 19th.
We additionally discussed the need to revisit
the 2015/2016 School budget once New York
State School Aid is finalized. The Budget
Advisory Committee strongly recommends that
the Board of Education develop a plan to
address the financial situation of the Food
Service program as soon as possible. If New
York State School Aid turns out to be more than
is assumed in the proposed budget, we rec-
Budget Advisory Committee members are: Tracy Young, Chair, David Bowdish, Thomas Connolly, Jay Goodman, Frank Pigeon, Brian Reeve,
Nicole Mahoney, Kathy Wank, Richard Tollner. Ex officio members: Cheryl A. Dudley (Superintendent of Schools) and Tammy J. Sutherland
(Assistant Superintendent for Business).
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G R EEN V IL L E C E N T R A L S C H O O L D I S T R I C T
Student Highlights
• Eleven Greenville instrumental students were accepted into The
Empire State Youth Orchestras this year! This is a record number
from Greenville in recent history and a major accomplishment for
these students. Alyssa Hopkins (Repertory Orchestra, Flute), Brad
Monkell (Repertory Jazz Ensemble, Bass), Hannah Smith (Repertory
Percussion Ensemble), Liam Williams (Wind Orchestra, Clarinet),
Caroline Bobrick (Repertory Jazz Ensemble, Alto Saxophone),
William Connolly (Wind Orchestra, Trombone), James Herbstritt
(Youth Orchestra, Trombone), Julian Jacobs (Youth Jazz Ensemble,
Youth Orchestra and Youth Percussion Ensemble), Brittany Johnson
(Repertory Percussion Ensemble), Ethan Spring (Wind Orchestra,
Trombone), and Josette Content (Repertory Orchestra, Trumpet).
• In December, all Middle School students had an opportunity to
participate in the local level of the Scripps National Spelling Bee
during their ELA classes. The following grade level winners then
competed in the Grades 6-8 Spelling Bee on December 22nd:
(Grade 6) Thanhvy Dinh, Emily Duncan, Donald Gardner, Kaleb
Karle, Colby Klob, Gavin Metcalf, Skylar Pettit, Kayla Politan, Gia
Quintana, Mackenzie Thompson. (Grade 7) John Catapano,
Christopher Dowdall, Kate Dushane, Baillie Kappel, Kasey Pfleging,
Rachel Shelburne, Kaitlyn Silk, Walter Sutton, Kye VanValkenburgh,
Deanna VanWagenen. (Grade 8) Harleigh Anderson, Bergen
Criswell, Garrett deLong, Holly Feit, Joel Keeny, Lydia Mardas,
Hailey Mason, Laura Morse, Damien Quick, Sonia Vertus. Garrett
deLong was the overall winner after 23 rounds! Garrett and Gavin
Metcalf battled for many rounds at the end. Garrett respectfully
declined to compete in the Capital Region Spelling Bee at Proctor’s.
Gavin represented Greenville Middle School in the Capital Region
Spelling Bee at Proctor's Theater on February 24 and finished among
the top 30 students.
• Senior Rachel Coe-Scharff, has qualified as a National Merit
Scholarship Semifinalist in the 2015 National Merit Scholarship
Program. Students who qualify as Semifinalists based on their performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship
Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) are the only program participants
who have an opportunity to advance to the Finalist level and compete for National Merit Scholarships. Rachel later advanced to
Finalist standing by demonstrating through distinguished performance high potential for future academic accomplishment. Rachel’s
high scores on her PSAT’s and SAT’s and completion of a rigorous
application process have resulted in her success. Scholarship offers
will be awarded to select Finalists in the spring.
• On November 12th, twenty-five juniors and seniors were inducted
into the Greenville Chapter of the National Honor Society:
Maddison Ackerman, Urja Bhatia, Emily Bodecker, Chenoa Cox,
Erin Crawley, Tara Doherty, Bryan Drossel, John DuBois, Emily
Fagan, Kelsey Gardner, Ashley Gifford, Jacob Gorneau, Alyssa
Hopkins, Taylor Huemmer-Harnett, Brittany Johnson, Sean
McAneny, Taylor McGuiness, Brad Monkell, Bethany Overbaugh,
Alexandra Powers, Jake Rath, Chelsea Ruggiero, Kristen Silk, Elaina
Spahmer and Khrystina Warnstadt.
• Khrystina Warnstadt was chosen out of thousands of applicants for
the All-Nationals Honor Choir at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
Khrystina earned a perfect score on her 2013 NYSSMA solo,
attended All-State last year, and submitted a two minute audition
video with a letter of recommendation. It took two years of singing
auditions and preparation to earn eligibility for this ensemble.
Khrystina demonstrated exceptional professionalism and musicianship, and presented our school with pride.
• On Wednesday, November 19, the MS and HS Student Council
worked with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to sponsor the first ever JDRF Kids Walk. Over 100 students, faculty, staff,
and community members walked one and a half miles around campus in an effort to raise awareness for Type 1 diabetes. JDRF is an
organization that raises money to fund diabetes research and education. During the couple of weeks leading up to the walk, students
participated in an assembly held by a representative from JDRF. The
students have classmates who have Type 1 diabetes and the assembly educated them about diabetes and how it impacts someone daily.
Students were able to purchase JDRF sneakers for a dollar and all proceeds from the MS and HS Student Council dances went to help raise
money to support JDRF and research. A total of $3,000 was raised.
CAPITAL PROJECT
• The Greenville 2014 Patroon Conference All-Stars are as follows:
Soccer MVP: Carly Johnson; First Team: Genevieve Palmer, Julianna
Rauf and Erin Crawley; Soccer MVP: Sam Statham; First Team:
Bryan Drossel and Killian Black; Second Team: Erich Koehler and
Tyler Biernacki; Cross-Country MVP: Sean McAneny; Second
Team: Chris Pickett, Cormac Tolan and Jaymey Kuykendall;
Volleyball MVP: Bethany Mitchell; First Team: Nicole Caprio. Sean
McAneny qualified for All-State Honors Team.
Progress Report:
• Architects prepared plans that were submitted to the New
York State Education Department
• The New York State Education Department reviewed and
approved the project on February 2, 2015
• Bids were opened on March 27, 2015
• Bids were awarded by the Board of Education on April 2, 2015
• Construction begins June 2015
On March 4, 2014 the District residents
approved the proposed $10,345,000 bond
issue to allow the District to complete a
sewer connection with the Town of
Greenville, replace/repair roofs and complete
technology, security and energy upgrades.
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• The following students were selected to the All-County Elementary
Band: Katriana Corbett, Celina Miller, Donovan Gallagher, Trey
Smith, Harley Horlacher, Jack Motta, Madeleine Stewart, Simon Uht.
• On March 7th students from Scott M. Ellis School participated
(and excelled) at the 2015 Odyssey of the Mind Tournament!
Odyssey of the Mind is an international program that develops creative problem solving skills in students of all ages. Odyssey of the
Mind (OM) participants work in age-based teams to solve spontaneous problems and long-term challenges. This year the Elementary
OM team chose to work on a problem titled "The Silent Movie."
2015 was the first year in over a decade that Scott M. Ellis students
participated in the regional competition. The team was created only
eight weeks before the competition; in spite of these obstacles, Scott
M. Ellis students were judged to perform better than half of the
teams in their age group! Congratulations to our students, Ryan
Arp, Micah Hubicki, Nuala Kappel, Benjamin Reinhard, Samuel
Rhoads-Goodman, Olivia Ruso, and Nicholas Trostle. We thank
our volunteer coaches, Kelly Hubicki and Melissa Trostle, for their
dedication and amazing leadership!
• The following students were selected as members of the Middle
School Honor Band: Josette Content (trumpet) and Autumn
Brennan (tuba). The follow students were selected as members of
the High School Honor Band: Khrystina Warnstadt (flute), Alyssa
Hopkins (flute), and Julian Jacobs (percussion). Brad Monkell was
selected as a member of the High School Jazz Ensemble.
• On March 2nd, twenty-nine Middle School students were inducted
into the National Junior Honor Society. Isabella Antonelli, Karianne
Benninger, Timothy Biernacki, Emily Connolly, Alexandrine
Content, Aidan Cullen, Garrett deLong, Kate Dushane, Austin
Field, Christine Focken, Sierra Gilroy, Alexandrea Goyette, Baillie
Kappel, Sarah LePage, Lydia Mardas, Hailey Mason, Sierra Mistler,
Laura Morse, Joseph Nicosia, Brooke O’Keefe, Adam Park, Kasey
Pfleging, Alaina Shutter, Emma Smith, Sydney Smith, Walter
Sutton, Riley Uht, Deanna VanWagenen, and Sonia Vertus.
• Greenville Middle School held its eighth annual Quiz Night on
Friday, January 23. The event, graciously sponsored by our PTSA,
was filled with food and fun. This year twenty-six teams of Middle
School students competed for the top three prizes. For four rounds,
students were asked a variety of academic and pop culture questions.
There was a tie for first place. One team consisted of Bridget Rose,
Valerie Lewis, and Chloe Cox and the other team was Jude Kappel,
Garret deLong, and Josette Content. Third place winners were Adam
Park, Trent Kipp, and Austin Field.
• Seventh grade students Alex Content and Baillie Kappel placed first
at the Twin County Science Expo on March 21 and won Best in
Show for their project “Unwanted Companions”.
GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER TEAM
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NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
US POSTAGE PAID
PERMIT No. 11
GREENVILLE, NY
GREENVILLE
CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
P.O. Box 129
Greenville, NY 12083-0129
Board of Education
Ann Holstein, President
Patricia Macko, Vice President
David Bowdish
Thomas Connolly
Jennifer Howard
Duncan Macpherson
Michael McAneny
BOX HOLDER
LOCAL R F D
STAR ROUTE
www.greenville.k12.ny.us
ANNUAL BUDGET HEARING
Thursday, May 7, 2015, 7:00 p.m. • High School Auditorium
SCHOOL BUDGET VOTE AND
BOARD OF EDUCATION ELECTION
Tuesday, May 19, 2015 • 1:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Scott M. Ellis Elementary School Cafeteria, Route 32
BOARD OF EDUCATION ELECTION:
The voters will elect three (3) members to the Board of Education for the following
vacancies:
• One (1) seat for Ann Holstein for a three (3) year term expiring June 30, 2018
• One (1) seat for Patricia Macko for a three (3) year term expiring June 30, 2018
• One (1) seat for the unexpired term as a result of the resignation of Gloria Bear,
from on or about May 19, 2015 through June 30, 2018.
Listed as they will appear on the 2015-2016 ballot, as per required drawing, are candidates:
• Patricia Macko
• Nicole Ambrosio
• Tracy Young
• Ann Holstein
MEET THE CANDIDATES: May 11, 2015 • 7:00 p.m., High School Auditorium
BALLOT ITEMS:
• Proposed 2015-2016 School Budget
• Board of Education Elections
• Public Library — Rensselaerville
QUALIFIED VOTERS: Qualified voters must be a citizen of the U.S., at least 18 years old, a resident
within the district for 30 days preceding the Election/Budget Vote, and be registered to vote. (If you
voted at least once within the last 4 calendar years at either a general election or GCS vote, you
are registered to vote.)
Applications for an absentee ballot are available at the District Office.
Produced by Questar III Communications Service