BMCS faces $2.25 million budget deficit for 2012-13

BRUSHTON - The Brushton-Moira Central School District is facing a $2.25 million budget deficit as it decides what cuts to make out of its proposed 2012-13 spending plan.

At a special meeting of the district’s Board of Education Wednesday, Shared Superintendent Beverly Ouderkirk and Treasurer Angela DeBeer presented the first run of the 2012-13 district budget.

Ouderkirk said a clear view of the estimated gap between anticipated revenues and expenditures for the next school year came after hours of review and discussion among herself, DeBeer, Shared Business Manager Susan Perkins and others.

The superintendent said cutting between 25 and 30 positions would save the district about $1.5 million, but she told board members and the public that that path was not necessarily one the district will go down.

“This is not the final action we wish to take,” Ouderkirk said. “We were trying to find out, where is there money we can use to make up the gap.”

She said the district will continue looking at ways to reduce the budget deficit other than eliminating staff. For example, she said, the district hopes to attain a health insurance rate increase under 10 percent to lower its cost raises.

“We may be below double digits,” Ouderkirk said, noting officials from the district and BOCES will meet next week to further discuss the issue.

Despite the district’s best efforts, though, Ouderkirk stressed the district is seeing a realistic possibility of running in the red and is “uncomfortably close” to having a deficit.

“It’s much closer than I’ve ever been in my life,” she said. “It’s a scary place to be.”

Ouderkirk said the district is researching available options if the district does end up with a deficit but is working to prevent such a situation from happening.

She also pointed out the first run of the budget, as is the case every year, will be much different from the final product after the district has reviewed the spending plan and made cuts to it.

“A lot will happen to that document [before it goes to voters],” Ouderkirk said. “This year is no different, except for the challenges.”

In terms of the actual budget proposal, DeBeer said the district is seeing a small increase in revenue, particularly through leasing one of its bus garage bays to Leonard Bus Sales for repair work.

She also said the district is expected to see a smaller gap elimination adjustment amount as a result of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive budget and hopes subsequent negotiations mean more state aid.

“Keep in mind, that’s his proposal,” DeBeer said. “The legislators will now look at it and hopefully tweak it to our favor.”

She said the district’s state takeaway will decrease to about $700,000, which she said still represents 27 percent of the tax levy. She said a ‘ percent raise in the levy equates to about $25,000.

DeBeer also said high-needs districts such as Brushton-Moira stand to get a boost in state aid, as there are talks on reallocating state funding to poorer schools to level the playing field.

“They were unfairly impacted by his gap elimination adjustment,” she said, noting high-need schools have had to make more cuts and are unable to compete for performance-based funding.

DeBeer said the district will see an increase in its BOCES aid by getting more services and equipment, such as printers and toner, through BOCES, and an increase in building aid to offset debt from its capital project.

As far as spending, DeBeer said the district’s budget will increase about$274,000 or about 14 percent in the 2012-13 school year.

“The increase is pretty significant this year,” she said, though like Ouderkirk she stressed it was just the first run. “This is draft one.”