Bronxville School Prepares to Operate Under 2 Percent Tax Cap

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July 27, 2011:  Dan Carlin, The Bronxville School's assistant superintendent for business, describes the 2 percent tax cap as a way of life for the intermediate term.  Signed into law by Governor Cuomo on June 30, and intended to provide property tax relief in areas of New York with some of the highest property tax rates in the country, the law will limit property tax increases to 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.

"The 2 percent tax cap came down, in my opinion, as a blunt instrument to rein in costs, not just in schools but in local municipalities," Carlin stated.  "To me it seems like the governor and the legislature took the politically easy way out and threw out an arbitrary number."

That being said, The Bronxville School must deal with the tax cap.  According to Carlin, the Board of Education has been operating under the limits of such a cap for the past two years.  "The Board was a couple of years ahead of the spending curve," he said.  Carlin prepared three budgets for The Bronxville School.  The first one reflects a very small increase in spending, resulting in a budget that accommodates to a property tax rate increase well below 2 percent; the second reflects less spending than that in the first budget; and the third reflects spending that results in a budget that accommodates to a zero percent increase in the property tax rate.

"We're in the midst of bargaining with virtually all of our bargaining units at the moment and those negotiations are taking place under the 2 percent property tax cap.  That's the blunt instrument Albany intended it to be," Carlin said.  Since personnel-related costs account for 80 percent of the school's costs, "we know where the cap will filter down."

Carlin does not expect homeowners to see their property taxes decrease as a result of the 2 percent tax cap.  With a continued shift of the tax burden away from coops in the village to private homeowners as a result of reassessments, even if the school were to achieve a budget within a 2 percent tax rate increase every year, the average homeowner could expect to see taxes increase.

As for the actual tax levy, "The levy did go down last year," Carlin said, "because the 2010-2011 budget was lower, but a sustained reduction is unlikely.  I think the best we can hope for is a plateau that does not exceed the tax cap."

Carlin further stated that, for the past three years, the Board of Education has been working to achieve a sustainable level of resource allocation.  He feels that growth at the rates experienced over the last decade could not be sustained.  "We have reduced staffing 14 percent overall over the last three years," he said.

Although The Bronxville School hoped for some kind of overall mandate relief from the state, it did not materialize.  Carlin pointed out that the highest unfunded mandate is for special education, which, despite being a federal mandate, operates under New York State requirements that are more stringent than those of the federal government.  If this or any other mandate were to be lifted, he said, there would be a community discussion about the level of service the school would provide to its constituents.  As to the possibilities of unfunded mandate relief, "I'll believe it when I see it," Carlin remarked.

"Westchester public schools are among the best in the nation," Carlin noted, "and The Bronxville School is probably in the top 1 percent of schools in the country.  Over 10 percent of graduating seniors attend Ivy League universities."

"I think we do a great job of preparing kids for the world," Carlin added.  "I'd hate to see this tax cap impact that.  We view it as our charge not to let that happen.  The board and administration are seeking to keep our schools excellent no matter what constraints we're forced to operate under."

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