Budget Information 22-23
2022-2023 Budget Letter
The budget process for
the 2022-2023 school year has been underway since late August, 2021. We
have been extremely fortunate in past years. We were one of the lucky districts
not forced to reduce programs while navigating through the tax cap era.
Some of this comes from prudent fiscal planning, strategic allocation of funds,
and collaborative approaches to finding more economical solutions to existing
problems. With that in mind, it has consistently been clear that the
district relies heavily on its state aid allocation to fund programs and
without that regular allocation we would have to alter how certain programs are
facilitated or determine if they could be ran at all.
The point of mentioning
that is to show just how reliant we are on state aid increases to help fund
district programs. We will do everything we can internally to produce a budget
that conforms to the wants and desires of all concerned parties. The
Board and Administration will take in to consideration all requests from the
budget input survey, budget input sessions, as well as all "budget
builders" in terms of the best way to allocate the funds availed to us by
way of the tax cap formula, state aid, and other funding sources. Then,
the Superintendent will recommend a final budget for the board to adopt and put
before the voting community.
As a reminder, the tax cap allows for an increase in tax levy that is formula
based. The result of this state prescribed formula will vary from
district to district based upon the different variables associated with the
formula itself. Thinking that the tax levy is limited to a 2% increase is
incorrect – something we have been trying to educate community and staff on
since the creation of the law. Additionally, the increase in the tax levy will
not necessarily be the increase in a taxpayer’s individual bill.
It should be noted that there is one part of the tax cap formula that does deal
with an automatic cap on the increase in the tax levy. That line of the
formula caps the increase at the lesser of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or
2%. It is that line of the formula that gave the tax cap its nickname –
the “2% cap”.
As a service providing entity, most of the district’s budget is comprised of
staffing costs. Approximately 80% of the operating budget exists to pay
for salaries and benefits for Teachers, Teacher Aides, Monitors, Nurses, Clerical,
Custodial staff, Bus Drivers, and Administration. This is a similar
percentage to that of other public school districts. The remaining 20% of
the budget is comprised of debts service, materials, supplies, equipment, and
external contractual obligations (i.e. special education costs such as tuitions
and related services, transportation costs, facilities costs such as fuel oil
and electric, business costs such as auditing and actuary fees, counsel costs,
etc…).
In the New Hyde Park – Garden City Park UFSD we have a decentralized budget
process that empowers department heads, “Budget Builders”, to propose their
initial budget. Fiscal responsibility has historically been a focus and
goal of each team member and will continue to be a priority during this budget
process.
As the budget progresses and information is available in terms of the tax cap,
the district will revise the budget and update the community regarding the
impact. If it becomes necessary to make difficult decisions, it is
extremely important that all members of the staff and community come together
to collaborate, discuss, and provide insight to the board of education and
administration.
Please check the school calendar, budget calendar, or the website for
information pertaining to the budget process. Also, please check the
website for updates regarding the tax cap and other items affecting the 2022-2023 budget. Don’t forget to come out and voice your input at one of the two
scheduled Budget Input Sessions – this can also be accomplished via the
district survey posted on the website. These input sessions and the
survey have been created so that all stake holders are afforded the ability to
convey information to the Board of Education and the Superintendent which
assists in the budget creation process.
Michael Frank
Deputy Superintendent
mfrank@nhp-gcp.org