BY MICHELLE MILLER
STAFF WRITER
Cherry Valley-Springfield Superintendent
Robert Miller says the financial picture for this
budget season and the next several years for
public education looks bleak.
Miller says state aid is no longer something
local schools can count on. He says if the
governor’s proposal for cuts stays as is, CV-S will
be facing a $381,000 reduction that will leave
the district with a budget gap of $781,000. According
to Miller, if the district was to make up
this gap with local taxes, the tax increase would
be close to 17 percent.
``This is not an acceptable burden to place
upon the taxpayers of the Cherry Valley-Springfield
School District who have generously
supported the school since
its inception,’’ says Miller. ``My
philosophy is to study all of
the structures of the district
for economy and efficiency
and then make adjustments
as necessary. We will also only
make changes that negatively
impact programs as a last
resort.’’
Miller says he is working
to find alternative revenue
sources, but they are generally stopgap measures.
He says he is looking into shared services
with area districts and is willing to not replace
certain staff members as long as it does not
limit the quality of education and programming.
Miller says he made a presentation to the
board of education last month that showed
where the district would stand financially if no
changes were to occur from last year’s budget.
He says although there would be only about a 3
percent increase ($11.54 million to $11.90 million),
there would be an approximate $750,000
budget gap because of the expected cuts in
state aid.
According to Miller, he and Principal Barry
Gould are planning to present program adjustments
in order to mitigate costs during the next
regular board of education meeting that is
scheduled for March 18.
The only steady streams
of revenue for schools are
State Aid and local taxes, says
Miller. The local tax base generated
a little more than $4
million in the last fiscal year
and that means that each one
percent increase in local tax
rate equates to only $40,000
more in school revenue, he
added.
Miller says the district is
facing $150,000 in salary
increases and anticipates
health benefits alone will cost
at least $150,000 more than
in 2010-11. Other expenses
and services are likely to
increase in cost by at least
$100,000, he says.
Although no firm decisions
have been made the members
of the board of education
at this point, Miller says
everything is being looked at
closely. There are likely to be
some positions under pressure
in the 2010-11 school
year, says Miller.
According to Miller, there
have been some reorganizational
shifts, but not really
any cuts. The only exception
is in administrative positions.
According to the February
publication of the district’s
newsletter, the technology
director will not be replaced
and the district is in the
process of hiring another
technician from BOCES to fill
in that gap. CV-S has hired a
teacher for Mr. Davis’s CISCO
class. Tom Brigham is the new
athletic director. The district
has abolished the position of
head custodian/director of
maintenance and replaced
the position through internal
shifts and the hiring of another
full-time maintenance
worker.
These changes in administration
will streamline
CV-S’ supervisory team and
save the district more than
$50,000 in the next fiscal year,
says Miller.
Miller said he and Gould
also publicly agreed not to
take a pay increase for the
upcoming school year.
The public will be able to
vote for the proposed 2010-
11 budget on May 19.
