Schools confront ‘grim reality’ of state aid cuts
Erie, Niagara districts brace for the prospect of losing $61.9 million
Local school districts face cutting classroom programs and staff, increasing class sizes, draining reserve funds and no doubt raising property taxes, in light of Gov. David A. Paterson’s proposed budget that would cut state aid by $698 million, or 3.3 percent.
The scenario is even dimmer locally than it is statewide.
School districts in Erie County would be cut by $49.2 million in state aid, or 4.7 percent. Niagara County schools face the loss of $12.7 million, or 4.9 percent.
“The depth of these cuts will force school boards to go beyond spending freezes and deferred maintenance,” said Timothy G. Kremer, executive director of the New York State School Boards Association. “At a minimum, children in some communities will go without extracurricular activities, sports, art and music programs.”
Amherst, East Aurora, Clarence, Eden, Iroquois, Hamburg and Barker face proposed cuts of more than 10 percent each.
“It seems that everybody’s getting whacked in terms of dollars,” said Thomas Bagley, business administrator for the Hamburg Central Schools.
In Niagara County, Lewiston-Porter will deal with a proposed $1.1 million cut by putting its academic program under a microscope at the same time that it is negotiating with teachers over a new contract.
“We will not have some of the things we have right now,” said Superintendent R. Christopher Roser. “It will be a big blow to the programs we have at Lewiston-Porter.”
Paterson said the cuts are difficult but necessary.
“The grim reality of our current fiscal situation is that all areas of state spending will have to experience reductions,” he said. Even after the cuts, he said, “New York will still have one of the best-funded education systems in the nation.”
East Aurora Superintendent James C. Bodziak said he and School Board members decided several weeks ago that “there would be no sacred cows, that everything would be on the table” when budget discussions begin.
For the first time in many years, districts will grapple with the possibility of substantial teacher layoffs. “Certainly, it’s going to have people on pins and needles for the holidays wondering if they’re going to have jobs next year,” Bodziak said.
All but one of 38 local school districts are targeted for cuts, which range from less than 1 percent in Lackawanna to 14.4 percent in Iroquois.
North Collins is the only local district that would see a state aid hike — $156,000, or 2.6 percent — because of increases in transportation aid and Board of Cooperative Education Services reimbursement.
State Education Commissioner Richard P. Mills and Robert M. Bennett, chancellor of the state Board of Regents, called the state aid proposal “disappointing” and said the Regents will “advocate vigorously” for more school aid.
“Children in need are at an even greater disadvantage during an economic downturn,” they said in a joint statement. “It is especially in such times that we must sustain our commitment to them.”
The Legislature traditionally approves more school aid than the governor recommends, but educators anticipate an extremely difficult year even after that process plays out.
Saying that the state must be “deliberate and thoughtful” about budget cuts, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, praised Paterson for “straightforward leadership” during a severe fiscal crisis.
“We have known from the beginning that balancing the budget will require real cuts, tough choices and shared sacrifice,” Silver said. “That is the reality. Together, we have an obligation to deal with it head-on.”
In Buffalo, a four-year funding plan crafted last year with Albany projected a state aid increase of $36 million for next year. Instead, Buffalo faces a $15 million cut and a projected budget deficit of $60 million.
Given the magnitude of those numbers, it is unlikely that Buffalo will be able to balance next year’s budget without cutting staff and classroom programs, said Gary M. Crosby, chief financial and operations officer. “This is really severe,” he said. “We are looking at everything that is under our control.”
Hamburg, which faces a proposed 10.6 percent decrease in state aid, is turning down thermostats, making sure appliances are shut off at night and shifting testing days to cut back on the need for substitute teachers.
But those measures have limited impact, given the contractual and legal obligations of local school districts.
“Talk to anybody in Western New York, and they’ll tell you 75 to 80 percent of what we do is tied up in personnel and benefits,” Bagley said.
Statewide cuts include:
• Requiring districts to pay 15 percent of the cost of preschool special-education services. Those costs are now covered by the state and counties.
• Delaying for at least two years planned increases in prekindergarten funding.
• Eliminating $40 million for teacher development centers.
• Scrapping a $10 million Teacher Mentor Intern Program, which allows veteran teachers to assist less-experienced colleagues.
• Eliminating a $10 million fund that provided math and science programs of which students can avail themselves at colleges and universities.
To help school districts deal with those cuts, Paterson proposes that they be exempted for five years from the Wicks Law, which requires the hiring of multiple contractors for public construction jobs.
Paterson would also allow school districts to access previously restricted reserve funds for budget purposes; reduce some pension costs; reform bidding procedures; reduce paperwork and delay for one year any state mandates that require added costs.
But most of the cost-saving measures require legislative approval, face contractual obstacles or would save little money in relation to the cuts districts are facing.
psimon@buffnews.com and bobrien@buffnews.com
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