2024-25 Putnam Valley School District Budget

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March 5, 2024

Dr. Jeremy Luft, Superintendent of Schools

Jill Figarella, Interim Director of Business Administration

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Putnam Valley Schools are building the foundation for the future:

Building Leaders

FUTURE Building Leaders

2024-25 Anticipated Enrollment & Staff

Elementary

Middle

High School

Students:

525 (-52)

Staff:

Teachers & Related Svcs: 54 (+1)

Teaching Assistants/Aides: 24

Monitors: 13

Administrators: 2

Office Support Staff: 3

Operations & Maint: 6

Tech Support: 1.5

Nurse: 2

Students:

445 (+3)

Staff:

Teachers & Related Svcs: 52

Teaching Assistants/Aides: 13

Monitors: 7

Administrators: 2

Office Support Staff: 3

Operations & Maint: 6

Tech Support 1.5

Nurse: 1

Students:

511 (+15)

Staff:

Teachers & Related Svcs: 58 (+1)

Teaching Assistants/Aides: 6

Monitors: 4

Administrators: 2

Office Support Staff: 4

Operations & Maint: 6

Tech Support: 2

Nurse: 1

Perf. Arts 1

The 2024-25 School Budget focuses on the whole school community by

Providing Essential Student Services while exercising Fiscal Responsibility

Academics

• Sustaining programs, instilling CORE values, continued professional development, improving attendance, engaging parents, addressing mental health, expanding school community most recently to include Garrison HS students.

Staff and other contractual expenses

• Sustaining staff, negotiating contracts with vendors for materials, supplies, and services while maintaining fiscal responsibility and generating new revenue using a long-term plan, investing wisely, and taking in out of district students.

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Transportation & Facilities

• Sustaining services and maintaining infrastructure while staying responsible to the taxpayers.

Budget 2024-25

• Student Focused

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• Fiscally Responsible

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• Under the Tax Cap

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• Balanced

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Balancing Budget Changes

• Health insurance premiums increasing 5%
• Post employment benefits; retirees health costs make up 33% of the total cost of health premiums
• Bargaining unit contracts address regional salary increases
• Vendor Contracts as well as the cost of Materials & Supplies are increasing across the board; the simple cost of doing business for labor, shipping, and insurance requirements
• Property Insurance premiums increasing 16%
• Special Education students aging out at 22
• Transportation home to school routes overall estimated cost increase 40% (includes PV District routes and contracted vendor routes)

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Small changes in revenue sources help to balance the budget but the 2% Cap will continue to force the use of reserves:

• Increased Interest earnings $500K
• Additional Tuitioning students from Garrison $150K
• Increased Foundation Aid $120K
• Additional transportation aid is due to anticipated increased cost -so while we are getting an increased amount of aid our costs are also increasing (this is an expensed based aid)
• Use of reserves $399K

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Living with a 2% Tax CAP in a +5% economy

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2024-25 Proposed Revenue

Understanding the Tax Cap

1. Prior Year’s Tax Levy $40,300,000

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2. Allowable tax Growth Factor (change in local property values) 1.0052

Measures the quantity change in the amount of locally assessed taxable real property

on assessment roll in comparison to the prior year $ 209,560

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3. (Less) 2023-24 Net of Capital Debt Expenses vs. Building aid (Principal and Interest Payments less aid received= ”Local Share” )

(1,163,076)

4. Assumed CPI - (capped) 2.0% $ 786,930

(Consumer Price Index not to exceed 2%)

5. Tax Cap before Exclusions Subtotal $ 40,133,414

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Exclusions:

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6. (Plus) 2024-25 Net of Capital Debt Expenses vs. Building aid $1,204,946

(Principal and Interest Payments less aid received= ”Local Share” )

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7. Pension Plan amount of increased contribution that exceeds 2% growth (.1) $ 5,552

Submitted- 03/01/2024

Putnam Valley- Allowable Tax Cap 2.59% $41,343,912

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3 Part Budget -Allocation of Resources

• Program 74.95 %

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• Capital 14.20 %

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• Administration 10.85 %

Current Budget Expenditures = Offer Long Term Savings

Capital Expenditure:

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• Incorporating the track & field replacement cost within the general operating budget
• No long term borrowing
• Save on interest
• Stable building aid
• Reduces escalation costs
• Lower construction costs

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Transportation:

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• Maintaining a district bus fleet and hybrid transportation model
• Cost saving efficiencies
• Controlled costs
• Long term stability
• Local control

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Associated Expenditures: 1.84 Million

Budget to budget (without capital and transportation): 1% increase

Elementary

Middle

High School

Maintaining Facilities, Infrastructure and Property Values

• Continue to re-evaluate facility needs and planning for the future
• Updating the 5 year plan
• Maintaining the turf field and track. The replacement is planned for the summer of 2025 (no additional tax impact)

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How do we sustain a predictable Tax Levy and Tax Rate?

-The tax levy becomes the number that “closes the gap” between what the state contributes toward running a school district and what is actually needed to run a school district

-An allowable tax levy that stays within the tax cap limitations is driven by formulas that includes the cost of annual debt payments, pension costs increases above 2% plus the Consumer Price Index that is capped at 2% despite inflation

-When a school district’s debt becomes retired (paid off) from the annual payment schedule, that becomes the ideal time to plan for Capital improvements and larger Capital projects.

Fluctuations in debt levels can sabotage a budget.

- How do we help keep debt expenses flat when we have large capital costs?

-Thoughtful spending can mitigate borrowing for Capital projects because when we are fortunate to have any unspent budgeted funds can be placed in a reserve at the end of each school year for future Capital needs to help reduce the amount that has to be financed in the future

-To do this the District has to establish a Capital Reserve account

Capital Reserve II

Establish new (Replace expiring) …Why?

Ability to reserve $10M over 10 years

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• Creates a mechanism to reserve funds over time for future projects that will ultimately create a savings for otherwise future projects that would have to be financed. By maintaining our buildings and facilities it ensures a greater ability to sustain property values because our facilities are maintained and the the focus on annual school funding can be targeted toward academic programs.

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• A Capital Reserve can pay for the portion of the costs of renovation, construction, reconstruction and improvements to the District's buildings, facilities, including original furnishings, equipment, machinery, apparatus, planning costs, site improvements, and incidental improvements and expenses in connection therewith; the maximum amount of such fund shall be $10,000,000 (plus accrued interest and investment earnings thereon), with a maximum term of 10 years.

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• Annual funding sources for the reserve may include year-end unexpended district budgetary appropriations or unanticipated revenues received during the school year.

Establish a new Capital Reserve…How?

• There must be a voter approved proposition establishing the reserve for a specific purpose or multiple purposes.
• Money cannot be added to the reserve without Board approval and money cannot be removed from the reserve without voter approval.
• No money is added to the reserve unless there are remaining funds at the end of the school year after the books are closed out accounting for all other expenses that are due and or payable;
• There is a maximum amount and time frame established at the time the proposition is presented.

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Bus Proposition II- $1,000,000 (bus replacement plan)

-Currently, utilizing in-district transportation provides a savings based on competitive contractor pricing. Therefore, retaining and replacing our fleet may be what the future holds and this proposition will create a placeholder for purchasing additional vehicles if we return to supporting more routes in-house.

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-reduces our reliance on bus contractor rate increases due to driver shortages and inflation

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-increases the District’s ability to maintain the district bus fleet

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-provides flexibility to purchase vehicles when needed without large budgetary impact

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-provides flexibility to keep home-to-school routes, field trips and sport runs at a fiscally responsible level

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2024-25 School Budget Vote

• Amount

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• Budget proposition 2024-25 $60,557,653

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• Proposition to establish a second

Capital Reserve II (State law allows 10 years)

up to $10M over 10 years

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• Proposition to allow financing for district buses

(Bus Proposition II) up to $1M

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• Electing 2 Board Trustees

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Contingent Budget

What happens if a school budget Is NOT approved?

• If the proposed budget is not approved by the required margin (50% +1):
• the district may resubmit the original budget or submit a revised budget to the voters on the third Tuesday in June OR�adopt a contingency budget that levies a tax no greater than that of the prior year (0% increase in tax levy).
• If the re-submitted/revised budget proposal is not approved by the required margin:
• the Board of Education must adopt a budget that levies a tax no greater than that of the prior year -a proposed reduction of $1,030,762 (0% increase tax levy) and the budget would be subject to contingent budget requirements. THIS MEANS…..Reducing the proposed budget by over $1M which in turn would reduce staff as well as diminish program offerings by forcing the district to make cuts and ultimately hurting students and future opportunities for students.
• Districts will not be allowed to increase the tax levy to the extent necessary to fund items of expenditure excluded from the tax cap
• No growth factor
• No capital, court order/judgments or pension exclusions could be considered

Contingent Budget Laws Updates:

• Administrative Expenditure Cap: administrative component of a contingency budget must not exceed the lesser of the percent the administrative component comprised in the prior year's budget (exclusive of the capital component) or the percent the administrative component comprised in the last defeated budget (exclusive of the capital component).
• The percent of the administrative component equals the total of the appropriations comprising the administrative component divided by the total of the appropriations comprising the administrative and programmatic components of the budget. The capital component is excluded from this calculation.

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Voter approval rate compared to the rest of NYS

PVCSD Voter Turnout

PVCSD Voter Turnout

Budget Talk-101

Question and answer sessions being scheduled

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• Meeting dates and times to be posted
• 3/12/2024 - Time TBA
• 3/21/2024 -Prior to the Board of Education Meeting
• PTA meeting Tentative date 3/27 @ 6:30 p.m.

Dates to remember:

• Budget Vote:

May 21, 2024 6 am - 9 pm @ the Putnam Valley Elementary School

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• For absentee ballots and voter registration information please contact the District Clerk

Maureen Bellino 845-528-8143 8am-4pm or mbellino@pvcsd.org

• Additional budget questions: jfigarella@pvcsd.org or 845-528-7976

K-12 Community Support System

Questions?