East Quogue School Board Eliminates Positions To Trim Spending

At a packed budget hearing Tuesday night, the East Quogue Board of Education announced that it will need to cut positions, including one full-time special education teacher, in order to trim the district’s spending next year.

But even with the elimination of that position, and the cutting of a part-time librarian, two teacher aides and reducing a foreign language teacher position to part-time, School Superintendent Les Black said it is still impossible for the district’s budget to fall under the state-mandated 2-percent tax levy cap.

He and members of the Board of Education said they plan to propose a $23 million budget for 2013-14 that increases spending by 2.9 percent over the current year’s $22.4 million spending plan, and exceeds the tax levy cap by about 2.6 percent. The plan will require the support of at least 60 percent of those casting ballots next month.

The tentative budget would increase the tax rate by about 4.7 percent, from $10.37 per $1,000 of assessed value to about $10.86 per $1,000, according to Elizabeth Lev, the district’s business administrator. Ms. Lev stressed that her estimations were based on the current year’s assessments, which are likely to change. With those estimates, an individual with a home valued at $500,000 would owe $5,430 for the 2013-14 school year, about $240 more than the current year.

Mr. Black stressed that he and board members shaved more than $1 million from the budget to reach that number, but could not find any alternative to eliminating jobs. He told faculty members and parents who attended the hearing that the cuts would not affect the programs and services provided to students.

“Before we looked at positions, we cut everything imaginable that we could,” he said, adding that this was the most difficult budget he has had to craft in his 18 years as an administrator.

The board members blamed hikes in fixed costs—such as a 16-percent increase in the state teacher’s retirement system, a 21-percent hike in the employee retirement system, and a 10-percent increase in health costs—for the difficulty during this year’s budgeting.

Board members will vote to adopt the budget on Wednesday, April 17, and it will be put to a vote before the public on May 21. If it does not pass, officials said they will put forth an amended budget that trims an additional $587,000 by cutting six full-time positions in order to stay under the cap. That budget would reduce taxes for the average taxpayer by about $127, but would reduce programs and services offered to students.

“If it’s not worth $127 to preserve education in this school, I don’t know what is,” Mr. Black said.