PCS Budget Cuts Unveiled; $26,235,072 Draft Plan Includes Staff, Athletic Cuts

POTSDAM - The Potsdam Central School District has unveiled a draft 2010-11 spending plan of $26,235,072 - a decrease of $543,107 over the current year's $26,778,179 budget.

However, the amount to be raised by taxes is expected to grow $309,665, or 2.99 percent over the current year's levy of $10,331,154, according to school officials.

Potsdam School Superintendent Patrick H. Brady presented details of the district's latest draft budget at a meeting of the board of education's finance committee Tuesday afternoon.

The proposed budget calls for eliminating 9.85 full time equivalent teaching level positions and 10.25 full time equivalent support staff jobs.

In addition to position cuts, the budget also calls for cutting $44,390 from athletics and extracurricular activities. The bulk of those cuts will come from a 10 percent across-the-board reduction in the district's overall athletic budget, including the elimination of a proposed girls hockey assistant coach; a modified cross country coach and a modified indoor track coach. The school will also eliminate the girls modified lacrosse program and trim travel and equipment expenses.

Extracurriculars to be cut include the middle school chess, computer, newspaper and photo clubs and the high school computer, photo and business leaders clubs.

Mr. Brady said this year's budget building process has been on of the most difficult on record, as the district grapples with a $1.2 million reduction in state aid on top of rising costs.

"What we've worked to do, both the administration and the board, is to develop a spending plan under these conditions that would balance the use of budget cuts, the use of reserves, and a low tax levy increase," Mr. Brady said.

Mr. Brady said overall the proposed 2010-11 budget calls for $1.1 million in cuts and the use of $1 million in fund balance to help plug a gap of over $2 million.

Some of the larger teaching and staff cuts proposed for next year's spending plan include the elimination of a library media specialist, a grade six teacher, a reading teacher, an elementary school music teacher and a school psychologist.

The district also plans to eliminate four full time equivalent teacher aids, two custodial/bus driver jobs and the drivers education program.

Other reductions include a 0.5 social studies teacher, a 0.5 art teacher, a 0.5 technology teacher, a 0.8 business teacher, and a 0.75 family and consumer science teacher.

All told the proposed plan calls for $330,356 in cuts to the high school in positions, supplies and programs; $119,737 in cuts at the AA Kingston Middle School; $7,497 in cuts at Lawrence Avenue; $164,513 in special education cuts; an $80,707 reduction in the buildings and grounds budget and $393,602 in other district program and personnel cuts.

The Potsdam school board will meet again on Tuesday. The next meeting of the board's finance committee will take place at 6:30 p.m. March 30.

Mr. Brady said the full board of education will now have a chance to look at the proposed budget and decide whether to make more cuts or leave the spending plan as it is.

"They will get a chance now in the next couple of weeks to take a look at what we've put out on the table and decide if this is in fact acceptable," Mr. Brady said.

Mr. Brady said he does not expect state officials to reinstate any of the cuts in state aid being proposed this year and he said he does not expect Albany lawmakers to craft a state spending plan by the April 1 deadline.