What Happens if Rye Doesn’t Pass Its Proposed School Budget?

Budget season is upon us, a process that can sometimes be contentious between taxpayers who don't want more increases and school districts that need to fund their operations.

The Rye City School District has proposed a $69.7 million budget that includes either a 1.45 percent tax levy increase, or a higher 1.95 percent increase in the tax rate if you consider the city assessor's predicted property assessment decreases.

On Tuesday, Kathleen Ryan, the district's business manager, outlined what could happen if the district does not pass its proposed 2010-11 budget on April 13.

According to state law, the district would have to adopt a contingent budget if there are two unsuccessful budget votes.

That budget also includes restrictions on expenditures, such as no purchases of equipment or student supplies.

The district would have to abide by limits set by the current Consumer Price Index, which is negative .38 percent for the 2010-11 school year, which means the district would have to cut more than $1.4 million from the superintendent's proposed budget.

These cuts would include close to $545,000 in equipment and technology purchases, $27,000 in salary increases would be off the table, as well as $300,000 in capital projects and repairs, and more than $522,000 in staffing and programs.

Ryan also said that the district would still be obligated to implement the state's proposed mandates, which include more than $281,000 in additional costs for pre-school and summer special education funding.

Ryan also gave an overview of the district's fund balance, which, like almost every other school district, is dwindling.

The district's fund balance is comprised of a reserved fund balance, which is used for is tax certiorari reserve; the designated fund balance, which is used for purposes such as property tax reductions, and the undesignated, unreserved fund balance, which is limited to four percent of the upcoming year's budget.

The district's fund balance was about $10.4 million as of June 2009, but this year's fund balance is project to decrease by more than $367,000 because the district has had to make

The news could get worse for the district, because there are still $375,000 additional refunds pending, which means that the district's fund balance could actually drop by $700,000—for a total fund balance of about $9.7 million that it would need in the event of unforeseeable expenses.