Blind Brook Superintendent Unveils $39.9 Million Proposed School Budget

Blind Brook Superintendent William Stark unveiled a proposed $39.9 million budget Monday night that includes a 1.95 percent tax levy increase, increased class sizes at Blind Brook Middle School and cuts to non-instructional staffing positions. 

The proposed 2011-12 budget represents a 1.56 percent increase compared to last year’s budget, an amount that totals slightly more than $600,000.

Like other school districts, Blind Brook has been hard hit by unfunded mandates and increases in salary and benefits costs. Stark said a $1.47 million increase in these costs, along with a $181 million decline in Rye Brook’s assessed property values, left him no choice but to propose a tax levy increase to fund the district’s operations. 

“If we were not obligated to spend this money, I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you about a 1.95 percent tax levy increase,” he said about the rising benefit costs.

Salary costs will increase by more than $600,000 in this year’s budget, while pension and healthcare costs will increase by $658,000 and $215,000, respectively. 

Declining assessed property values also have hurt the district’s ability to fund its operations. The average assessed valuation in Rye Brook in 2010 was $776,431, down from $843,231 in 2009. In total, the assessed values of properties in the community declined 8.15 percent, or more than $181 million.

To offset these line items in the district’s budget, Stark has proposed the elimination of several filled and unfilled staffing positions.

“The most effective cost cutting is to cut staff,” he said.

The bulk of the staffing cuts will affect part-time and school-related employees such as teachers’ aides and assistants. 

Stark’s proposed budget calls for the elimination of 8.15 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) positions that are already filled, including an elementary school teacher, an elementary and middle school psychologist, a teacher’s assistant and a teacher’s aide. The unfilled positions that will be eliminated include an assistant director of pupil personnel services, a custodian-driver, maintenance mechanic and a teacher’s aide. In total, about 11 FTE positions will be eliminated.

Stark also said class sizes would increase at the middle school. Although the district’s enrollment is fairly stable in terms of its overall number, the elementary school will see a drop in enrollment, while other grade levels in the school district likely will increase. Currently, class sizes in the school district range from between 18-27 students, but Stark said in the future “class size will become significant in terms of budgeting issues.” 

Stark’s proposed budget also includes the elimination of hourly stipends for summer curriculum pay for teachers. The cut will save the district $26,000 for these stipends, which are given to teachers who spend time during their summer vacation planning curriculum for the upcoming school year. Stark also proposed a $67,000 savings for the district by reducing all equipment, materials and supplies. The district also could save another $90,000 by taking advantage of favorable interest rates to reduce payments on its outstanding bonds and debt. It could save another $59,000 by reducing consulting services.

The 2011-12 proposed budget also includes two cost additions— $45,000 for a CSE chairperson, a position related to special education, and $50,000 for a repair reserve fund, a rainy day fund for future repairs of the district’s athletic fields.

Stark said the budget doesn’t include any cuts to athletics or elective courses, and that the core program in the district remains intact.

 “It’s essentially the same educational program that we had last year,” he said.

Stark’s budget presentation was preceded by a speech by Board of Education President Steve Kaplan, who touched on issues related to the district’s Citizens Budget Advisory Committee (CBAC), a local blog called Freeze the Budget and a , Blind Brook parent Jeff Diamond.

Kaplan said that members of the CBAC need to respect protocol and the superintendent’s authority, especially in regards to key issues in the district such as curriculum and staffing.

“There has been a lack of respect and that reflects poorly on us as community,” he said. 

He said the district was not trying to stifle community input, but that it was incumbent upon members of the committee to understand the “advisory nature of their work.”

Kaplan also suggested it was a mistake for the Board of Education to change course and not ask committee members to sign a confidentiality agreement, as it had done last year.

“For the benefit of all involved, some things must just remain private.”

He also made a not-so-veiled-reference to Diamond and his blog, suggesting comments on the blog are a form of cyberbullying and that views expressed on the blog leaned more toward opinions than fact. Kaplan said the “blogs that we see in the community are sometimes troublesome.” He also suggested that Diamond may be positioning himself to run for a seat on the Board of Education.

Former Board of Education member Monroe Haas also spoke at the meeting. However, he had a different view from those Kaplan expressed. 

He said it was time for the community to have a more civil discourse and that recent incidents, including hateful emails that have been sent to school officials, are not representative of the kind of community Blind Brook should be.

“Who would want to move to Rye Brook/Blind Brook when this becomes the picture of the community?”

“I guess I’m asking this community to grow up. Speak carefully and act in a manner that one would be proud of,” he said.

Board of Education member Sheri Zarkower responded by saying that certain incidents, such as the caution tape placed in front of Diamond’s home, were likely the result of a teenage prank that also allegedly happened in the BelleFair community on the same day. She said it was important for people to not jump to conclusions.

Diamond said that Zarkower’s comments concerning the caution tape were “beyond the pale.”

“She as a member of the Board of Education should be ashamed of herself for blaming it on Blind Brook students, when in all likelihood it is not.”

Diamond said it was ludicrous for Zarkower to suggest that someone would place caution tape on a road in the BelleFair community and then drive three miles to his home to do the same thing.

He said he felt “pretty beat up” by the board’s comments about him and his blog, and that his intentions were not to be disrespectful of the school district, only to advocate for changes he feels are necessary.  

“I think what they are finding disrespectful is my description of their own actions and their own words.”

In regards to Kaplan’s comments about a potential candidacy for the Board of Education, Diamond said he began his blog to give the community information about school spending, not to become an elected official. However, his sentiments may have changed.

“It was never my intention to run, but it’s something that I’m going to have to consider,” he said. “The more that I see of the way this board handles itself, the more inclined I am to run.”

The Blind Brook Board of Education will have ongoing discussions about the superintendent’s proposed budget throughout March. On March 5, it will hold a budget workshop followed by a budget discussion on March 7. The Board of Education will adopt the budget on April 13 before residents vote for or against it on May 17. 

Editor's Note: Patch contacted Rye Brook Police Chief Gregory Austin about caution tape incidents in the village. He said: "There have been no other reported incidents to the Rye Brook Police of caution tape other than Mr. Diamond’s." Chief Austin contacted Patch at 12:45 p.m. to clarify his statement. He said Ms. Zarkower contacted him today to say "she did see the tape [at her neighbor's home], so she did have firsthand knowledge of the caution tape in the Arbors." However, her neighbors did not file a police report.