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Southern Ulster Times , Wednesday , March 22 , 2017
IN THIS ISSUE
Calendar .......................................... 12 Craig McKinney ................................ 9 Classifieds ...................................... 30 Crossword ...................................... 32 Highland ......................................... 23 Letters to the Editor ........................ 8 Marlboro ........................................ 22 Obituaries ...................................... 24 Opinion ............................................. 8 Police Blotter ................................... 4 School News .................................... 19 Service Directory ........................... 34 Sports ............................................ 39
PUBLIC AGENDA
THURSDAY , MARCH 23
WHAT : Plattekill Zoning Board WHEN : 8 p . m . WHERE : Plattekill Town Hall 1915 Rte . 44 / 55 , Modena
WHAT : Lloyd Planning Board WHEN : 7 p . m . WHERE : Lloyd Town Hall 12 Church St ., Highland
MONDAY , MARCH 27
WHAT : Marlborough Town Board WHEN : 7 p . m . WHERE : Marlborough Town Hall 21 Milton Tnpk , Milton
TUESDAY , MARCH 28
WHAT : Plattekill Planning Board WHEN : 7:30 p . m . WHERE : Plattekill Town Hall 1915 Rte . 44 / 55 , Modena
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The Southern Ulster Times , ( USPS 022-586 ) is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday at Newburgh , NY 12550 , with offices at 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , NY . Single copy : $ 1 at newsstand . By mail in Orange , Ulster or Sullivan Counties : $ 40 annually , $ 44 out of county . Periodicals permit at Newburgh , NY . POSTMASTER : Send address changes to Southern Ulster Times , 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , NY 12550
Marlboro refines budget figures
By MARK REYNOLDS mreynolds @ tcnewspapers . com
In the past few weeks the Marlboro administration has been refining their financial figures that will become the 2017-18 school budget . Last week in a budget update presentation , Business and Finance Director Patrick Witherow offered a few final budget calculations . Next year ’ s tax levy is now set at $ 33,948,733 . This is a . 81 % decrease , or $ 276,730 , in the levy from this year . He pointed out that this is the third straight year in levy reductions . The overall budget for next year is presently hovering just over $ 53 million .
NYS Aid for the 2016-17 school year was $ 13.7 million and the district is estimating $ 15.5 million for 2017-18 .
Witherow highlighted several key areas of increased costs . Total salaries are up by $ 985,000 , which includes approximately $ 300,000 in mandated driven program additions , mostly in the area of Special Education . Health Insurance costs are projected to rise by $ 820,000 and BOCES costs are up by $ 450,000 .
Witherow pointed to a few areas where he expects to see savings . Next year the district will spend $ 5,587,306 to service the debt , which is $ 35,000 less than this year . For transportation , the district will spend $ 3.04 million , a savings of $ 85,000 from the current school year .
Superintendent Michael Brooks supplied the school board with approximate financial figures , inclusive of benefits if applicable , for all of the additions that have been under consideration for the past month . A shared School Resource Officer for the Elementary and Middle Schools for $ 47,000 ; a Reading / Literacy Specialist for grades 7-12 for $ 100,000 ; a Library Media Specialist covering the Elementary and Middle Schools for $ 100,000 ; a part time [. 4 ] Math Teacher for $ 35,000 ; a part time Social Studies Teacher [. 6 ] at the Middle School for $ 70,000 ; a Social Worker at the Middle School for $ 100,000 ; a Technology Education Teacher handling the Middle and High Schools for $ 100,000 ; a part time [. 5 ] Physical Education Teacher at the Elementary School for $ 50,000 ; a districtwide English as a New Language Teacher for $ 100,000 ; a Family and Consumer Science Teacher spread between the Middle and High Schools for $ 100,000 ; a Junior Varsity Coach ( conversion from assistant ) for $ 2,000 ; a Swim Coach at the High School for $ 6,000 ; Planetarium visits
Superintendent Michael Brooks said whatever is decided , the additional positions will not increase the $ 33.9 million levy .
for elementary students for $ 7,000 and an ID scanning system for $ 15,000 .
Brooks said these figures “ are purely for discussion purposes . We ’ re not proposing ten new positions . Its a priority list of options that have been administratively reviewed and discussed .”
Brooks said whatever is decided , the additional positions will not increase the $ 33.9 million levy .
“ The levy can ’ t change because that ’ s based on the tax cap [ and ] anything that we can afford on that list has to come from more money that we end up with from the state .”
Brooks said even after the district receives their final aid number , he doubts they will be able to fund all of the positions .
“ Realistically , I don ’ t think there is any way we ’ re going to cover ten positions and I don ’ t know if we should cover ten positions ,” he said . “ That quick amount of growth in one year is not necessarily sustainable .”
Brooks said once the aid number is a known quantity he will have a better idea “ of what is responsible to grow by in positions this [ coming ] year . It may be nothing ; we might look at it and say the package is too heavily swayed in one particular direction and is not predictable in the following years . Maybe it is not wise to make that level of commitment at this point or maybe we can say we can go down another $ 200,000 worth of positions but it all has to be from the state money , it can ’ t come out of the levy because the levy is capped .”
Brooks said the district has to be “ smart ” in the way they grow their budget and programs while ensuring that no one is harmed in the long run .
“ I think the goal that the board has set with being fiscally responsible but also reviewing programs so we can enhance opportunities for kids is absolutely the right focus ; trying to keep a careful mix so that we make sure our taxpayers can afford what we put out for them but also delivering a high quality program for our children . All that combined makes for a better place here in Marlborough , that ’ s really what it comes down to .”
Brooks believes the worst of the recent fiscal troubles are behind the district .
“ It feels like that but I want to be very , very cautious . I don ’ t want to say everything is rosy and great and we ’ re diving in head first ; I ’ m not a diving in head first person . We need to be cautious and be prudent in how we grow . I ’ m an optimistic person no matter what and I ’ m cautiously optimistic on this budget .”
The School Board expects to adopt their 2017-18 budget on April 20 . The budget vote by the public follows on Tuesday , May 16 in the courtroom at the Marlborough Town Hall , 21 Milton Tnpk , Milton .