CPCSNearing Budget Completion

COLTON - The Colton-Pierrepont Central School District is in the final stages of drafting a $9.4 million budget for 2010-11 that calls for reducing the number of bus runs and paring back two positions, according to Superintendent Martin J. Bregg.

Mr. Bregg said the tentative budget represents a modest $140,000 or 1.5 percent increase in appropriations over 2009-10 but the tax levy increase will be markedly higher.

Mr. Bregg said voters are facing a 6.9 percent tax levy increase, as the budget stands now, due to a $275,000 reduction in state aid to the district.

The district raised $5.9 million from property taxes in 2009-10.

"We are only talking about a $140,000 increase in spending over last year, but we are being impacted by a decrease in revenues," Mr. Bregg said. "We don't get a lot in state aid to start with but the loss is a high percentage of the total. $275,000 is a lot."

Because Colton-Pierrepont is considered a wealthy school district by the state, nearly three-quarters of the district's budget is raised by the tax levy. As an example, school officials say Colton-Pierrepont property tax revenues amounted to 64.8 percent of the district's 2009-10 budget.

In the nearby district of Parishville-Hopkinton the tax levy made up just 31.2 percent of the total budget, Edward-Knox just over 15 percent and Potsdam 38.5 percent.

To help close a 12.3 percent loss in state aid next year, Mr. Bregg said the district is eliminating a .5 music position and a part-time business office worker. He said the district will also reduce the number of bus runs by one existing route to save money.

With the budget picture not expected to improve next year, Mr. Bregg said school officials are in the process of making bigger structural changes to save money. He said the district is considering eliminating the elementary principal's position in the 2011-12 year and having just a superintendent and a kindergarten through grade 12 administrator.

"Not for this year, but going a year down the road we're looking at a retirement of the elementary school principal, so we are looking at some restructuring there," Mr. Bregg said. "We're looking at possibly going with a K through 12 principal and disseminating out the duties of the elementary principal to the people that are in house."

The next meeting of the Colton-Pierrepont Central School Board of Education is at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Between now and then Mr. Bregg said officials will attempt to trim more from the proposed spending plan.

"We may be able to knock off a few more thousand and maybe get it down to about 6 percent on the tax levy," he said. "If the board decides to make further reductions."