By Carol P. Bartold     

Mar. 23, 2016:  The Bronxville Free Union School District budget for 2016-2017, revised at $46.6 million with a projected budget gap of $660,000, was described as manageable at the March 15 Bronxville Board of Education meeting. Dan Carlin, assistant superintendent for business, reported to the board that an anticipated budget surplus of approximately $220,000 for 2015-2016 applied to the gap would reduce the shortfall to $440,000.

Options open to the board and administration to make up the shortfall call for some combination of appropriating fund balances, increasing revenues, and reducing expenses.

Carlin characterized the 2016-2017 budget gap as manageable because, based on current economic conditions, along with having no reasonable way to forecast the district's pension tax obligation, the district could face a budget shortfall of up to $1.5 million for the 2017-2018 year. "Clearly, if the tax cap is anywhere near where it is now [at 0.24 percent] or flat," said Jeff Rohr, board vice president and finance committee chair, "we are not going to have enough capital to allocate to get through that."

Rohr pointed out that a 3.5 percent tax levy, larger than the allowable New York State 2 percent tax levy cap, would be needed to meet that shortfall. The district could ask the community for a tax cap override in 2017-2018, which would require a 60 percent supermajority for approval.

Rohr explained that budget gaps arise because the flat tax cap provides little or no increase in revenues. "We can't have two years of flat taxes when our costs continue to go up," he stated. He added that, when first dealing with the tax levy cap a few years ago, "I don't think we anticipated having a flat tax cap with no increase in revenues."

Speaking on behalf of the Bronxville Teachers' Association, Dr. David Katz, its president and a middle school social studies teacher, said that the 2 percent tax levy cap is not a way to bring reasonable taxes to municipalities. He pointed to the growing Bronxville School enrollment, which has led to increased expenses.

Katz also criticized the 60 percent tax cap override as undemocratic. "It's a way of taking power away from the community and the school board they elected and putting it in the hands of the governor and the state," he said.

Katz went on to say that if proposed cuts such as the loss of guidance counselors, cuts in science programs, the loss of music programs and co-curricular activities, and increased class sizes are placed in front of the community, he has "no doubt at all" that the community would approve an override with the required 60 percent majority.

Board president Denise Tormey noted that, although a number of areas were considered for cost reductions, the board does not feel the need to implement them at this time. She credited the finance committee for looking ahead to 2017-2018 during the budget workshop for 2016-2017. "It would be really misleading to just look at next year alone," she said.

The Bronxville Board of Education will meet on Tuesday, April 19, at 7:00 pm in the school's multipurpose room. The 2016-2017 budget will be adopted at that meeting.

Pictured here:  Seated: board president Denise Tormey (L) and Superintendent Dr. David Quattrone; standing: board member David Brashear (L) and board vice president Jeff Rohr.

Photo by N. Bower