Bridgehampton School Is Walloped By Budget Woes

While every municipality in New York State is facing an almost-zero limit on increases in taxes, the state tax cap, first adopted in 2012, is particularly onerous for school districts. 

Here on the South Fork, as local school districts prepare budgets for the 2016-17 academic year and voting in May, the Bridgehampton School District appears to be facing the most severe cuts so far in order to stay within the .12 percent cap.

Attempting to go above the cap is not out of the question, however. Districts were asked to tell New York State this week whether they intended to try to pierce the cap, which would require a super-majority or at least 60 percent approval by voters.

The East Hampton District is trying keep its tax increase below the cap, and Sag Harbor intends to stay within it. Wainscott officials, on the other hand, have said the district is likely to see a decrease of 1.1 percent or $27,444 in its tax levy. The issue remains open for discussion in Amagansett and Springs.

The Bridgehampton School has reviewed its budget in detail, announcing that it may have to kill after-school and summer programs, field trips, career and technical training, and driver’s education. And that’s not all. During a school board meeting on Feb. 24, officials warned that potential teacher and employee layoffs and a decrease in funding for student clubs were being considered to offset some hefty increases in expenses over which the administration has no control.

Looking at the proposed Bridgehampton budget for 2016-17, the district is facing a gap of about $1,034,000 between rising costs and the amount by which it can increase taxes. Without going above the cap, Bridgehampton would be able to raise this year’s levy by only $336,704, or about 3 percent. This is higher than the base limit of .12 percent because the district has had an increase in overall property value. 

The latest budget figure for 2016-17 is $14.09 million, which, if enacted, would represent a 9.95-percent increase over this year’s $12.8 million. Driving the increase are dramatic jumps in busing and health insurance costs, an expected enrollment increase of 50 students, contractual salary increases for teachers, and training to support students for whom English is not a native language, among other items. A budget-related community forum is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the school.

According to Robert Hauser, the district’s assistant superintendent of finance and facilities, ending the after-school Aspire program would save $35,000 and eliminating all field trips would save $14,000. Cutting driver’s ed would save $18,000 and axing the summer camp and Jump Start programs would save $30,000. Mr. Hauser said Bridgehampton was working with nearby districts to try to save on transportation, however, which was initially slated to jump about 55 percent.

A $32,000 saving would result from ending the district’s participation in Board of Cooperative Educational Services occupational programs. As for student clubs, the district is considering cutting between $15,000 and $65,000 in stipends for teachers who advise them. Also on the table for possible cuts, up to $50,000, are fees for teacher training consultants. No specifics were given with regard to staff reductions outside of two potential retirements that could save about $150,000.

Mr. Hauser said Bridgehampton anticipated telling the state that it might try to pierce the cap, but that the district could change its response later. Bridgehampton successfully pierced the cap for the 2014-15 school budget by about 8.8 percent or $914,684. He added that the district could tap into reserve funds for an additional $50,000 in revenue, but he said, “We’re limited to how much we can tap into it without completely depleting them. We’ve got to be careful.” The district has combined reserve funds of $1.8 million, and is considering using $400,000 from the current year’s fund balance toward next year’s budget.

Last week’s presentation followed four meetings of the school board’s budget advisory committee, which consists of Mr. Hauser, Lois Favre, the superintendent, and Jeff Mansfield a school board member, who informed his colleagues last September that he would be unable to attend district meetings between Dec. 14 and March 8. One parent and one community member are also on the committee.

The school board sat mostly in silence during the Feb. 24 meeting. Jennifer Vinski, a school board member, asked whether the potential cuts had been discussed by the budget advisory committee.

“They actually came to the conclusion that to get to the kind of numbers we have to get to, they knew it was going to be the after-school programs, all of the bigger numbers,” Ms. Favre replied. “They were aware of that, and they left it to Bob and I to look at. This is all just ideas of things that could be cut. . . . We don’t want to see anything go, but we’ll bring these ideas to the community.”