Public Quiet at School Budget Hearing

Correction: This article originally stated that Betty DeSabato was the sole speaker during the budget hearing portion of the meeting. This was an error and has been corrected. We apologize for the mistake.

A public hearing on a $216 million budget took place before the Half Hollow Hills School Board Monday night. 

The only thing missing: the public. 

Betty DeSabato, a for a seat on the school board, was one of the few speakers during the hearing at and she praised the board and administration. 

“I would like to thank the board of education, administration, Dr. [Sheldon] Karnilow, Victor Manuel along with his staff for working together to present us a budget that keeps all of our academic, athletic and art programs in place,” said DeSabato, a mother of three children in the district and the co-chair of the HHH PTA Council's legislation committee. 

“It is imperative that we encourage all of our friends and family in the district to join us in ensuring that our children continue to receive the best education possible," she added.  

With eight days to go before residents vote on the 2011-12 school budget, Victor Manuel, the district’s assistant superintendent for finance and facilities, again outlined the financial struggles the district faces.

The $216 million budget, which the board adopted unanimously last month, is a 3.9 percent spending increase over this year's $207.9 million budget. The adopted budget would bring a 4.94 percent increase to the school tax levy but would for the year in a move that will save the district $3 million. Eligible teachers will still receive automatic step increases.

The budget is approximately $200,000 higher than an laid out in March and includes funding for elementary summer school, which had been discussed as a possible budget cut in light of state aid shortfalls. The budget also reinstates $100,000 to go toward professional development.

“[The 'Challenges' column] seems to get a little longer every year,” Manuel said of the obstacles faced by school officials in putting a budget together. 

Among those challenges are Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Gap Elimination Plan, which would reduce state aid to the district by $5 million over the next two years. Some special education mandate costs will shift to the districts and the MTA tax will continue next year, Manuel said.

Manuel called the $2.5 million required for state health insurance premium hikes and a $3.5 million increase in mandated payments for the retirement system “the budget drivers.”

Health insurance costs remain a problem for the district despite employees paying 20-25 percent of their health insurance, which Manuel said is among the higher percentages in local districts.

Manuel said that if the budget fails next week, a contingency budget would require the district to further cut costs by $4.1 million.

“That would undoubtedly begin to decimate the programs in the district, extra curricular, arts, community programs," Manuel said. "It would limit how we could spend the money as well."

It's the last budget cycle for both Superintendent Sheldon Karnilow, who is , and Manuel, who is leaving HHH at the end of the school year to become assistant superintendent for business affairs for Jericho Schools. His replacement, Anne Marie Caliendo, currently the assistant superintendent for business at William Floyd, was named to the position last month. 

Residents head to the polls next Tuesday, May 17, for the budget vote and school board election at High School East.