With an estimated $2.3 million in cuts needed to comply with new tax cap rules, the Seaford Board of Education has some difficult decisions ahead.
One possible educational cut that the district is exploring in order to avoid exceeding the tax cap would be dropping to eight period days at Seaford High School and Seaford Middle School. Seaford Superintendent Brian Conboy said during Thursday's night school board meeting that reducing from the current nine period schedules at the secondary level would save $600,000 at the middle school and $850,000 at the high school.
Conboy said Seaford has had a nine period day for grades six through 12 since the early 1980s, which has allowed for increased electives, advanced placement courses, team-planning and remedial programs when needed. He said going to eight periods would mean only state-mandated subjects would be offered at Seaford Middle School, which would result in a reduction of six teachers. Seaford High School would lose eight teaching positions if it were to adopt an eight-period model, Conboy stated.
"The one thing that comes from an eight-period day is the lengthening of the class period so there is more instructional time, however the draconian cuts to the program in the eight period day are not an easy trade-off for a few additional minutes in each period," said Conboy during Thursday's board meeting held at the Seaford Harbor School. "This is not an easy thing to talk about."
Like Wantagh-Seaford Patch on Facebook and subscribe to our newsletter
Conboy said the only Nassau County high school that currently has an eight period day is Glen Cove.
Other Long Island districts are exploring going to an eight period schedule because a drop in state aid and the challenge of adhering to new tax cap laws. In Seaford's case, when factoring in required payments to the Teacher's Retirement System, the district is permitted a 3.56 tax levy increase for the 2013/14 school year. An executive budget proposal released by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in January has Seaford losing 6.88 percent in state aid.
Another area the district may explore trying to come up with savings for the 2013/14 budget is reverting back to half-day kindergarten after expanding to a full-day program only a few years ago. Conboy said reducing to half-day kindergarten would reduce about $350,000 from the budget.
Seaford school board trustees went through every line of the current budget to come up with other savings to try and avoid going to an eight period day or cutting back on kindergarten sessions. Some areas mentioned where savings could be achieved without impacting programs are in expenses for public relations, security for special events, school field trips, fuel costs and money allocated for Nassau County's water tax. Trustee Susan Ruona also suggested exploring an intramural program at Seaford Middle School in the fall, winter and spring rather than trying to fund a full-fledged athletics program those seasons.
"Everything has to be on the table including sports," said Richard DiBlasio, vice president of the Seaford school board.
"We're not going to find $2.3 million in pens and papers," said Brin Fagan, president of the Seaford Board of Education of the challenge facing the district this budget cycle.
Conboy said he is hopeful that Seaford will get some additional state aid before Albany lawmakers adopt a budget by the end of March. He said the district's goal is to adopt a budget proposal by April 11.
Additional budget discussions are scheduled for school board meetings on March 14, March 21 and April 4. A budget hearing is slated for May 9 with a vote on the spending plan taking place May 21.
Related-
- Seaford Facing 3.56 Percent Allowable Tax Levy Increase
- Cuts to 'High Tax Aid' Hit Local School Districts Hard
- Seaford School Officials Begin Laying Groundwork for 2013/14 Budget
- Seaford PTA Leaders Urge Adding Programs for 2013/14 Budget
An 8 period day shifts the balance of a teacher's daily responsibility back in favor of what he or she was hired to do. Under the current 9-period plan, each full time teacher provides 200 minutes of instruction (5 x 40 minute period) per day. The remaining 160 minutes are spent prepping (allegedly), supervising a lunch room or study hall, and eating lunch... That is4/9 of each day. When utilizing an 8-period schedule, instructional time jumps to 225 minutes per day while time spent on non-instructional activities drops to 135 minutes, or 3/8 of each day. In the end, I have no problem with teachers being treated and compensated as professionals. They are. But there is A LOT of down time that should be reallocated to place the emphasis back on what teachers are paid to do.... Teach.
http://web.jerichoschools.org/finance/Budget1213/index.htm The above is from the Jericho SD Budget presentation last yr. . Perhaps it will offer some insight - on What the tax levy and tax cap does and doesnt do. and why. Just understand that last yr our voter approved budget in Seaford was 2.3+% and MOST homeowners in Seaford received a tax bill with increases well over $800 -1k . So do the math... 3.+% or higher has the possibiltiy to clean EVERYONES wallets so to speak. Well not everyone, some people get raises- unlike the rest of us.
Wantagh 440 NYSTRS employees @ 31+ million, Wantagh 200 NYSLRS employees @6+ Million 31% LRS employees vs 68.7% TRS employees Seaford 294 NYSTRS employees @ $25 milion(teachers) Seaford 203 NYSLRS employees @ $5+ million (non Teaching) 41% LRS employees vs 59.7% TRS employees Jericho 448 NYSTRS employees @46.8 million(teaching ) Jericho 289 NYSLRS employees @ 12+ Million (non Teaching) 39% LRS employees 61% TRS employees And please notice that even thought we have significantly fewer NYSTRS employees then either Wantagh or Jericho our TOTAL salary line is not AS proportionatly LOWER .Matter of fact Seaford is the HIGHEST TRS mean average salary. Teaching positions Seaford 294 TRS employees = $105K average Wantagh 440 TRS employees = $70K average Jericho 448 TRS employees = $104k average Data from See thru NY
Seaford has 245 retired TRS employees totaling 13,778, 970 in pension costs Wantagh has 292 retired TRS employees totaling 16,220,484 in pension costs Jericho has 280 retired TRS employees totaling 20,456,445 in pension costs Seaford Budget 2012-2013 =57+million 24% in TRS pension costs Wantagh budget 2012-2013 =71+ million 22% in TRS Pension Costs Jerichos Budget 2012-2013 = $114 +million 17% in TRS Pension costs. These numbers DO NOT include Benefit costs for TRS employee and families nor does it include ERS/LRs employee pension costs. This is strictly TRS pension numbers as per See thru NY.
3 yr contract- yr 1= 3% raise, yr 2= 3.5 % raise, yr 3 = 4% raise. is the entire contract raise schedule to be followed until a negotiation is reached or just the last years schedule .? If it is JUST the last yrs terms would someone then pls smarten up and offer the LOWEST amount in the last yr..rather then the highest?
I would be interested to see how many are relatives of School board personnel, board members, and teachers in our district. Also past PTA presidents and current ones. As they costs continue to spiral we need to get a real look at what is happening here in our little town.
http://seethroughny.net/ 2012 SCHOOLS Seaford UFSD The group you want in SEAFORD UFSD is NYSLRS employees for non teaching positions Gives you a list of the LRS employees names and salaries as of 2012 If you chose NYSTRS gives you a list of TEACHER names and salaries as of 2012 you can also search pensions in a simliar manner. Fairly easy to use website. Rather informative. Pls note it does not reflect current contracts recently negotiated, any additional stipends nor step increases this is base salary only for all employees. also does not include benefit dollars. Happy reading
Thanks for the clarification , I did not know that. So if i understand correctly all other T&C;s carry over EXCEPT any annual salary increase %'s? You mentioned "educational incentives"? Care to elaborate ? What exactly are those? What little hidy hole/ line item/ budget code are those dollars kept in?
- Barbara Murdock Takes Helm As Jericho’s District Data Manager Barbara Murdock- District DATA Manager = 2012 Salary 62k (see thru NY) Barbara Murdock comes to the Jericho School District with an extensive data background and a strong focus in educational data applications. Ms. Murdock most recently worked for Nassau BOCES in the Curriculum Institution Technology Department as a Data Analyst where she was a member of the Data Warehouse team. Previously she was a computer consultant, which allowed her to work with several Nassau County School Districts including Valley Stream, Oyster Bay-East Norwich, and Plainedge, as well as Dowling College. Ms. Murdock began her career as a software programmer for the Unisys Corporation. Ms. Murdock is excited to join the Jericho team and has already made a seamless transition in her role replacing Mark Steinberger, who recently retired. Jericho REclassifed the position from Director of Technology to DATA Manager when Marck Steinberger retired . and WE in Seaford have a Director of technology with a newly negotiated contract and DID not even comptemplate downgrading the title & seeking other individuals. WORK SMART HIRE SMART -
WHo you employ and WHY is very telling and goes ] to the effectiveness of your business management skills , accumen, knowledge and expertise. we have no money for equpiment or infrastructure but explain to me what the line items for Consulting fees were for in IT to the tune i beleive of 450K in the 2011-2012 budget Repairs? That is equipment. maintenance not consulting fee's>go look at the line items for IT two years ago -The ONLY credit i will give him is the abilty to pull the wool over people eyes..and get paid a ridiculous salary at the expense of the students. and the taxpayers. Do your research then come back and tell us all what made him qualified for the position. and what justifes his salary? He is COSTING us DEARLY!
TOP tier SALARY and this district NOT seeking once again the MOST qualified person for the position in the first place and not classifying and titling the position to work with the skills he did bring to the table . AT BEST if they wanted to reward him for stepping to the plate and helping out as BC stated then title the job as IT MANAGER - at around 60k while you diligently search for someone who has the expertise , experience skill sets to do the job of DIRECTOR of IT @ a salary of 110K. BOth of which is the norm.. WE ARE the COSTLY exception. As to the consulting fees- LMAO- i dare say whom ever got that fee is laughing their asses off as they run to bank ..you tell ME what that was for and why and what did we get for it? More importantly what did the students GET for it? thats a big chunk of change my friend for any industry to throw at a consultant. We cant afford to reward people for stepping up the students deserve better the taxpayers should demand better & the BOE / ADMIN should KNOW better.
solving this matter is a bureaucratic impossibility For the people responsible for solving this mess are the very people who will never agree to live with less Superintendents, Specialty Care and Administrative Overhead are sinking the district with 100 tons of custom suited lead Consolidation of districts is the obvious path Sparing the teachers, while Admins take a bath But the Admins will never agree to this place they'll hang on till the bitter end to save their space Stock up their pension benefits right up to the max While the Admins cut your football, soccer and lax They pull on your heart strings with these recurring tacts Distract your attention while your home value retracts Divided they conquer with these shameless ploys Turning neighbor on neighbor while they remain in your employ Cutting the overhead is the way to lean and nimble in a district like Seaford, barely the size of a thimble But the Admins will continue their path of self salvation Until the State demands the inevitable consolidation Teachers we need and deserve much more But the Admins are eating right into your core Your sports will be gone, your band will be toast Direct your attention to the Admin issue this spring The march to Albany is not the right focus to ring The problem must be solved right here in this town Asking Albany for handouts is just sand to pound
The focus and goal should be to EDUCATE students at a resonable and somewhat SUSTAINABLE cost to the tax payers. CANT keep spending or lining pockets with money we dont have ...and better to clean the 'back of the house", then continue to TAKE AWAY from the students. or dont you agree that the STUDENTs should be the PRIMARY focus and consideration and NOT the employees, their pockets & "feelings" and if someone doesnt LIKE receivnig a salary thats customary and resonable for the position , job function, thats commiserate with their experience expertise & qualifications then pls dont let the door hit ya on the way out.
Talk about getting 'more bang for the buck.'