ELDRED, NY — In light of the district’s fiscal stress, financial questions dominated the public comment session of the latest Eldred school board meeting.

Both school principals reported that the academic year is off to a successful start and that the few remaining instructional vacancies will be filled soon. The hiring of Kindergarten teacher Miranda Martell was approved as well as teacher aides Rebecca Ryman, Angelia Abato and Melinda Coney.

District treasurer Caleb Russell reported that due to circumstances that affected most of the districts in the county, the mailing of school tax bills has been delayed. As a result, the board approved the revamping of the collection period for the first installment to October 15. If paid in full at this time, no interest will be assessed. If made in installments, the remaining payments will be due on October 31 and November 3. Payments will be received in person at the Highland Town Hall. The tax bills will contain an insert with those details.

Russell reviewed the district’s cash-flow position, stating that this delay in collection is not helping matters but that there was some relief in the form of a reimbursement from BOCES that arrived earlier than usual. Russell said that payments have been delayed when possible to help the situation.

Russell mentioned that the district’s credit rating has been downgraded but that one positive in the credit report was that the district has rapidly depreciating debt. Due to the complexities of the state-mandated tax cap, it will be in the district’s best long-term interest to replace that debt with additional debt. The school buildings’ capital needs are of concern to the board, with a roof replacement at the elementary school high on the list of priorities.

When asked whether the district was on track to achieve fiscal stability, Russell said that if the district meets all of its financial goals, it can be achieved in two or three years. This would preclude any programs being added to the curriculum. There was much discussion regarding the timeliness or need to “pop the [tax] cap.”

Three individuals inquired about enrollment numbers. The morning following the meeting the enrollment data by grade for the current and previous year was provided showing a decrease of 32 students from 548 to 516 as of September 14.

Russell was asked about the specifics of costs covered for the pre-Kindergarten program. With the original assumption of no pre-K, the budget included one teacher and one teacher’s aide for Kindergarten. Reinstatement of the pre-K program and increased enrollment in the Kindergarten resulted in the hiring of an additional teacher, teaching assistant and two aides, not anticipated in the original budget. As reported the prior month, the pre-K state grant is sufficient to cover the cost of three aides. The past administration had filed for and received state funds based on a half-day pre-K program. Superintendent Dr. John Morgano said that once the level of such aid to be received is determined by the state, it is not increased by the state in subsequent years. Thus, grant money will continue to be received at the amount for a half-day program, even though a full-day program is conducted. Morgano also said that if pre-K had not been held this year but was offered in a subsequent year, no grant money would be owed to the district.

Russell said that a cost/benefit analysis of the retirement incentive agreements awarded will be performed. The incentives will result in the payout of a total of $100,000 over two years to two individuals. The board promised to report the results of this analysis at the next board meeting. It was pointed out that these payouts are the equivalent of one-eighth of the amount of the fund balance shortfall.

In response to a state mandate that dictates instructional time based on hours rather than days, as has been the case in the past, the state now disallows three-hour school delays. As a result, the board adopted a policy that in instances where a three-hour delay is necessary for safety reasons, the school day will be extended an additional hour at the end of the day, in effect creating a two-hour delay. When asked whether it’s in the students’ best interest to have delayed openings with the resulting loss of instructional time, Morgano stated that a shortened day is better than no day.

Senior Hannah Jennings asked about the recently released student code of conduct, pointing out some errors and omissions. In referencing “senior lunch privileges” she asked what these were, since neither she nor her fellow students were aware of any such privileges. A bit tongue-in-cheek, she said she didn’t want to miss out on any privileges to which she may be entitled. Administration members acknowledged that Jennings had identified some errors in the document.