ELDRED, NY — Eldred School District Treasurer Caleb Russell finally stated January 10 what had been more tha onn hinted at during previous meetings: that the Eldred School District will seek to “bust” the tax cap in the 2019-20 fiscal year.

The anticipated 4.95% increase would result in an additional $283,059 of revenue for the district over the amount that could be raised without exceeding the cap, Russell said at the school board meeting.

A 60% majority of disrtict voters must approve any budget that exceeds the state mandated tax cap. The 2019-20 budget will be up for a vote on May 21. The cap is generally considered to be 2% but due to a number of arithmetic machinations, is expected to be 2.23% for the district.

The increased revenue will be used to fund a number of initiatives, including roof repairs at the elementary school. Some initiatives are mandated by the state, for which there will be no aid to offset the costs, including guidance services for elementary students, the hiring of an information protection officer and oversight and evaluation of private schools within the district. Also anticipated is the hiring of two school resource officers for protective services, which the administration is pursuing  through an arrangement with the county.

Currently, the pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes are blended. The plan is to once again separate those classes, which would result in two Kindergarten and one pre-K class. This would require that the school hire an additional Kindergarten teacher.

Superintendent Dr. John Morgano stated that a wild card, financially speaking, is always the amount and level of special education services that the district’s students require.

Any unexpended amounts at the end of a budget year are added to the district’s general fund balance. The general fund balance at Eldred has been seriously depleted in past years, leading to a $65,878 deficit as of June 30, 2018. The state suggests a fund balance of approximately 2% of a district’s annual budget to be financially healthy. For the district, this would be approximately $800,000.

Morgano said repeatedly that beyond this proposal, a budget exceeding the tax cap would not be anticipated for a few years, responding to concerns that the cap would be “busted” repeatedly.

Morgano also stated that in response to a good deal of misinformation being touted on social media, he made himself available for a town hall meeting on Saturday, January 12, where residents could address financial or other concerns in an informal setting. The idea was to make him available to talk with those who cannot attend regular board meetings. He, board member Scott Hallock and elementary Principal Scott Krebs were present for three hours Saturday, but no one attended the meeting.

The specifics of the budget are still being prepared, so when asked how the 4.95% proposed increase was arrived at without the details being set, Morgano stated that it was a balance between what the district needs and the ability of the community to pay.