Springs School: 'We Have Cut Everything to the Bone’

Working since February and ending with exactly $72 to spare, the Springs School District’s administration successfully pared down a budget gap of more than $860,000 to reach a proposed figure for 2016-17 that stays within the tax cap limits and will not negatively impact what goes on in the classrooms each day, school officials say.

Doing so was tough, they said, and it puts the district in a precarious position with no contingencies to fall back on if needed.

“We have cut everything to the bone,” Carl Fraser, the district’s interim business administrator, said during the school board’s April 11 meeting. “In the past, you have seen moneys left over to put back into reserves to keep us going. We’re at the end of the cliff to fall over.”

The school board formally adopted the budget at its meeting on Monday. It will present to the public a $27.63 million spending plan that is less than 1 percent higher than the current year’s budget. As adopted, the budget carries a tax levy of just under $24.5 million, which is .13 percent higher than the present year’s tax levy, in accordance with state law. The district will need a simple majority of voter approval to pass the budget on May 17. Mr. Fraser estimated that for a Springs house with an assessed value of $800,000, taxes would rise by about $12 per year.

The budget maintains its present prekindergarten and full-day kindergarten programs, and additional state funding that came through in the final days of budget preparation was used to restore co-curricular programs, such as the literary magazine, the health fair, and several class advisers, that had been cut in a recent draft of the budget.

To get to the $27.63 million budget figure, the district slashed teacher and staff salaries by more than $176,000. John J. Finello, the superintendent, took a $15,000 pay cut, bringing his annual salary down to $200,000. There will be $10,000 less in the budget to pay Mr. Fraser, who is part-time and earns $750 per day. Eric Casale, the school principal, and Christine Cleary, the assistant principal, are both taking salary freezes, which will save the district $3,000. Two special education teaching assistant positions will be cut due to changing indivualized education plans for students in need of those services. A part-time librarian currently working .6 of a position will be reduced to .4 of a position, and a part-time art teacher working .4 of a position will be reduced to .2 of a position. There will continue to be a full-time librarian and a full-time art teacher in addition to these part-time positions.

The district is planning to put more than $1 million it anticipates having left over from the current year’s budget back into next year’s budget to offset rising costs in areas including health care and tuition for high school students. Don Cirillo, a Springs resident who has a background in finance, cautioned against relying on this practice, saying during the public comment session on April 11 that “dipping into your surplus to close a budget gap is . . . like a red flag” when it comes to the possibility that the district’s credit rating could be downgraded.

On Monday, Mr. Finello stressed to the school board that the budget, as presented, also contained no contingencies for expenses such as an extra teaching assistant position that could be needed should enrollment fluctuations call for more staffing.

“We just want to make sure, again, we’re making that point to you,” Mr. Finello said. “Overall, it was a daunting task to get at this tax-cap level.”

A resident, Dennis Donatuti, a former John M. Marshall Elementary School principal, spoke up after Monday’s meeting ended to compliment the district on the work it has done in presenting information to the taxpayers. “The last couple of weeks I had the chance to take a look at a lot of different budgets that were developed on the island,” he said, “and no one has done the job that the Springs administration and board have done in presenting a wonderful, clear package to the taxpayers. It’s the best I’ve seen certainly on the East End. . . .”

When voters weigh in on the budget, they will also select two school board members. Three Springs residents turned in nominating petitions by Monday’s deadline: David Conlon and Amy Rivera are running for the first time and Adam Wilson, an incumbent, is seeking re-election. Jeff Miller, who holds one of the two expiring seats, is not seeking re-election.

--

Correction: An earlier version of this story that appeared online and in print stated that one full-time librarian and one full-time art teacher would see their jobs reduced to .8 of a position. The full-time librarian and full-time art teacher will not see a reduction in hours; but the jobs of a part-time librarian and part-time art teacher will be reduced to .4 and .2 of a position, respectively.