Scarsdale School Board Discusses Budget, Monthly Financial Report

Superintendent Michael McGill and members of the Scarsdale Board of Education painted an optimistic budget picture when they presented the November 2011 Executive Summary and Monthly Financial Report to parents and community members at Scarsdale Middle School last night. 

Dr. McGill informed the public of an additional $3.4 million in surplus funds. However, McGill and Scarsdale Union Free School District Treasurer Jeffrey K. Martin offered a guarded outlook, as the district is still facing a $1.5 million dollar funding gap.

“We got to this new number because we now have a better understanding of what the tax cap the Governor passed means,” McGill said. By understanding how to calculate the tax cap, the Board was able to crunch their numbers more accurately and come up with the smaller budget gap. 

The surplus was fueled by lower energy prices and having teachers retire, making way for new staff that is compensated at a lower salary level and lower healthcare costs. 

However, the Board of Education now has to decide how to deal with the still- outstanding $1.5 million dollar budget gap. The Scarsdale Board of Education will be listening to the community and parents throughout the subsequent meetings in February before making any decisions. 

The Board can chose to use the surplus to fill the gap relieving the burden on the tax pay. But if tax revenues fail to reach the same levels, the community will then be forced to raise enough money to cover both the gap and the money used to fill it previously. Another option they could chose is to not set an arbitrary limit on the districts school budget, or even the more conventional solution of cutting the amount from the current budget. 

McGill, however, disagrees with the standard solution, stressing that the budget has already undergone numerous cuts in the years before. 

“We have already cut a lot of money from the budget. If we cut anymore, we would not be trimming the fat. We would be cutting into the meat and very close to the bone,” McGill noted in his address. 

The superintendent made clear that not every single widget in the budget is necessary. He did, though make clear that removing these items would not substantiate enough money to lift the burden on the taxpayer. 

But McGill did reassure parents that enough consideration has been taken into ensuring that cuts and funding are managed in a way to preserve the quality of education in Scarsdale.