February 14th Public Forum on $4M Budget Gap
Peru Central School News Release:
Peru Central School District and Peru Central’s budget advisory committee is hosting a public forum at 6 PM this coming Monday, February 14th at 6 PM in the community room, adjacent to the main entrance of Peru High School.
Monday’s 6 PM public forum will actively engage district residents by soliciting ideas and perceptions regarding school finances, cost reductions and forecasted budget factors for constructing next school year’s proposed budget plan. The intent is to help Peru Central respond thoughtfully to the fiscal challenges facing New York State. This public forum is the first in a series of three winter 2011 public forums at Peru Central focused on school budget factors. Individuals who participate Monday will receive a briefing packet, according to Peru Central Superintendent of Schools A. Paul Scott.
The tentative figures via New York State indicate Peru CSD faces a $2.62M reduction in state aid for the 2011-2012 school year. It’s still very early in the state budget process, yet the facts at this point in time at Peru Central are as follows: A $2.62M cut in state aid, July 1st forward, coupled with estimated figures of $358,000 in negotiated & projected 2011-2012 salary increases for employees, $412,000 of increased cost for health insurance premiums, $211,000 of increased support staff retirement system contributions and $372,000 of increased teacher retirement system contributions yield a $4M gap, not including any prospective increases to other cost areas such as fuel, utilities, and BOCES services such as ‘tuition seats’ for career-technical programs & special education programs.
Peru CSD will need to sustain all cost reduction strategies currently in practice, and Peru CSD will expand cost reduction strategies winter and spring 2011, as part of better positioning the school district for the tough fiscal decisions ahead.
Scott will work closely with the Board of Education to establish a responsible budget plan for next school year, while keeping in mind Peru Central needs to sustain a multi-year approach to financial planning, since this period of severe economic challenge is multi-year in nature, given the State’s fiscal challenges.
Scott believes the fiscal challenges for the years ahead will likely drive some aspects of how public education is funded, organized & delivered statewide, particularly in the rural communities of New York State.
As Peru Central has done several times during the past decade, Peru will create and discover ways to respond to the financial challenges ahead. Just last school year, Peru Central engaged with district employees and volunteers to reduce costs for this school year by over $1.7M. Although that was difficult, the benefit of this year’s cost reductions is that monies not spent this school year will help Peru Central sustain programs next school year.
Superintendent Scott sent a suggestions survey this week to district employees and volunteers, encouraging individuals to submit ideas for additional cost reductions for spring 2011 and the school year ahead. Suggestions from employees and residents may be sent via email to a special email account, entitled budget@perucsd.org.
Monday’s February 14th 6 PM public forum will start with distribution and discussion of pertinent facts. Next, district residents who attend will engage in small group discussions focused on fiscal challenges ahead and how to best respond to those challenges. The last segment of Monday’s public forum will feature a brief stakeholder survey, intended to generate ideas for Peru Central to continue reducing costs while maintaining strong programs, according to Scott.
Posted: February 9th, 2011 under Peru School News.