To our highly valued teachers, support professionals and administrators Friends and Colleagues, Those of you who have been following the Rocky Point UFSD budget presentations know that the 2013- 14 school year will represent the fourth consecutive year with a proposed school budget that fully supports and builds upon all current academic and co-curricular programs, including our Next STEP initiatives. It is expected that this budget will be tax cap-compliant and is hoped to be met with broad community support. Today, our district stands in stark contrast to many of our neighbors and others around the state, communities in which significant cuts to programs and staff have been imposed. Unlike those, we are proud to have continually put forth fiscally responsible budgets in a quest toward creating a school system of distinction. Indeed, although many districts have been forced to excess numerous instructional and support positions, our Board has excessed positions only when enrollment levels dictate, and even then, very few positions have been excessed in our district over the past few years, allowing Rocky Point UFSD to grow and thrive. A significant part of our historic success is that we have always achieved more with less. Our district has consistently maintained one of the lower per pupil expenditures on Long Island, while continuing to enjoy strong community support. The message from our community is clear: create value for our students and community, be fiscally responsible, and together, we will thrive. The Board of Education is committed to this identity, and keenly interested in accessing the most creative solutions for enhancing productivity to improve student outcomes. Despite your ongoing hard work and the support of the community, it is unrealistic to think that we can dodge the troubling economic conditions faced by all public schools. It is inevitable that we will all leave some of our past practices behind in the quest to survive. New ways of doing business, interacting with each other and ‘getting the job done’ will have to be developed. Our Board – supported by the community – believes it is critical that we adopt a leadership position to preserve all that is right and good for our community. The math is straight-forward. As an employee of the district, you are certainly aware of the revenue limitations posed by the tax cap and the already difficult property tax burden homeowners face. Despite the fact that our last four tax levy increases have been fiscally prudent and respectful of the difficult economic climate in which we exist, these associated budgets nonetheless funded our schools at a rate of growth sufficient to maintain our core programs. During that same period of time, average salaries to instructional and non-instructional staff have increased by more than 3% each year, which is substantially greater than the rate of inflation. Unfortunately, many others in our community and across the nation have experienced either catastrophic job loss or adjustment, along with negative wage growth, over the past several years. The summary analysis for Rocky Point and all school districts in New York is the same: the rate of expenditure growth is far outpacing available revenues. The cost of running a school district is largely centered on its staff, and in the average public school district, roughly three-quarters of all expenditures are typically designated for salaries and benefits to support the direct instructional program. We are compelled out of sheer necessity to think differently about our programs, our staffing, and the totality of our community’s investment in our schools. Our desire is to maintain the value of our schools and the services and programs that residents want and need. But that will not happen without ongoing incremental changes to existing structures and recognition of our mathematical obstacles. The Board of Education is grateful to our voters and the entire community for affording us the opportunity to do more with more these past several years. We remain cognizant of our responsibility to act in a fiscally prudent manner, and the proposed 2013-14 budget continues to support the district’s key goals in the areas of academic excellence, organizational development and fiscal sustainability. We hope you will engage in the budget process and seek to gain a strong understanding of the 2013-14 budget and the goals and constraints that have shaped our fiscal plan for the coming year. Toward that end, we invite each of you to participate in the budget overview that will take place during the Board of Education meeting on March 18, 2013. As always, you have our gratitude for all you do each day for our students. With the support of our community, we look forward to a successful budget and continued growth and progress in the 2013-14 school year. Sincerely, The Rocky Point UFSD Board of Education
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 22:16:43 +0000
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