March 9, 2010 - The Board of Education began its formal 2010-11 budget development process on Monday, March 8, at the first of six Budget Committee meetings in front of community members who filled the Shaker High School Library.

An overview was presented of the current financial situation at North Colonie, which also detailed projected expenditures and revenues for next year. As it stands currently, North Colonie is proposing $3.3 million in expenditure cuts for 2010-11.

As costs increase, it would take about $94.4 million to provide all current programs and operations in the district next year. Due in large part to a 12% reduction in state aid under the Governor’s budget proposal, this is nearly $4 million more than projected revenues.

If North Colonie were to close this gap through taxes alone, it would require an 11.34 percent increase in the tax rate. Due to the difficult economic times New York State is currently facing, a tax increase alone will not be the solution in addressing the shortfall, according to Assistant Superintendent for Business, Thomas Rybaltowski.

In order to moderate the potential increase in local taxes, the Administration and Board of Education began examining possible areas where reductions and cuts could be made. Last night, the Board began reviewing recommended expenditure reductions, including staffing cuts. The complete list of recommended reductions can be found here.

“These decisions are very painful to make,” Superintendent Randy Ehrenberg said. “These cuts will need to be substantial, though, in order to address the gap between increasing expenses and decreasing revenues.”

No decisions were made at Monday’s meeting; the cuts will be evaluated by the Board at future Budget Committee meetings.

Public participation is welcome at the Board’s budget workshops. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, March 11 at the Blue Creek Elementary School. Please note that the meeting was originally scheduled to be held at Shaker High School, but will instead be held at Blue Creek Elementary to accommodate the large number of community members attending. On Thursday, the Board will be discussing debt service, enrollment, summer curriculum development and maintenance. For a complete timeline of future meetings and proposed topics for each evening, click here.