FREDONIA — Residents of the Fredonia Central School District will see a tax increase of at least 10.8 percent in the 2010-11 school year unless the district’s state aid picture changes, Superintendent Paul Di- Fonzo told the School Board on Tuesday night.

DiFonzo said the district must seriously consider moving its students in prekindergarten through the second grade to the district’s main campus and close Wheelock Elementary School for classes.

“How low does our enrollment have to go before we consider this?” he asked.

The district stands to lose $1.4 million in state aid in the coming school year but has to continue to figure in a standard 5 percent increase each year to cover district staffing and operational costs. If Wheelock is closed, DiFonzo believes that the district could save $450,000 a year for personnel, cleaning and maintenance, and bus runs.

Social service agencies currently are renting space in Wheelock, and this could generate income of $200,000 a year. DiFonzo said Buffalo Speech and Hearing, for example, rents an entire wing of Wheelock. The district would not sell Wheelock, just not use it for classes.

The projected budget currently stands at $28.8 million.

If Wheelock is closed for classes, and if the state aid reduction remains at $1.4 million, the 10.8 percent tax increase could become reality, DiFonzo said.

If Wheelock is not closed, and if the state aid cut remains the same, the tax increase could swell to 15 percent, he added.

“There will be a tax increase unless the state aid picture changes for Fredonia,” said the superintendent, who has been talking with state legislators to determine if Fredonia’s aid share might be improved. Under current state aid projections, the district will have a beginning operational shortfall of $2.7 million, he noted.

DiFonzo said he also is recommending reducing the number of full-time administrators in the district from nine to seven. He promised other staffing cuts.

He also remarked that Fredonia ranked second, only behind Orchard Park, in administration efficiency among school districts in the Erie 2 Board of Cooperative Educational Services district.