There are four ways to achieve immediate savings of $5 to 6 million which make a tax cap override unnecessary, They are:
By Bertrand de Frondeville
There are four ways to achieve immediate savings of $5 to 6 million which make a tax cap override unnecessary, They are:
Excise the systematic $2 to $4 million worth of Excess Margins ($3.2 million last year; close to $3.8 million this year).
This is really taxpayer money, sitting idle and, in fact, Scarsdale calls this “Return to Taxpayers”. State Comptroller Di Napoli has called these Excess Margins illegal whenever they boost Unassigned Reserves beyond the legal maximum 4% of expenses, more than enough to meet any contingency and to maintain the District’s strong bond rating. But the only way to make them clear to all is to add two columns and provide for major components from left to right: 2013-14 Budget and Actual, 2014-15 Budget and YTD Estimated, 2015-16 Budget.
Optimize Dedicated Reserves or Assigned Fund Balances
The Actual-Audited Tax Certiorary Reserve at year-end has averaged $5.5 million over the past 13 years, only falling twice below $4.9 million ($4.6 and $4.7 million) since 2003, and currently $5 million. This padded cushion could easily be trimmed for a $2 million savings.
Reform Special Ed
Why is Special Ed surging 44% from last year, when an independent study found our approach much costlier and less effective than standard practices? Indeed, p.118 of the 2014-15 Budget Book shows the District Special Ed $59,108 unit cost per student 60% higher than the peer districts’ $36,870, and twice the $30,207 average of all NYS districts. The new Budget Book shows these excesses reduced to 38% and 74%. Cutting the increase by 4.4 to 10% would yield a $950,000 saving with possibly better service to our special students.
Settle litigations logically
They mostly profit lawyers. Now that Dr. Alvarez has clarified that teachers shall not proctor their own students during state tests, it is time to reinstate the teacher who “cheated”, a malady not unique to Rye. (Remember the $6.5 million the District wasted for zero result on the Osborn Homes tax certiorari litigation.)
In summary:
• About $5-6 million (3+2+1) in immediate savings stem from the above four items alone, without abandoning any programs.
• Or twice the $3 million “cap override”, and just over the $4.9 million “contingency cuts”.
• This savings package would create a budget decrease for the first time in history. A flat budget would reflect a total enrollment which is flat rather than “surging”.
• There is absolutely no reason for any taxpayer to become an accomplice in any cap override. Indeed, we could say “no” a second time for a contingency budget, sending a message regarding priorities to the District which, oddly, proposes to cut Programs 6% and Capital 8%, over 10 times the 0.55% cut on Administration.
This is the second part of a three-part series.
