Lakeland Expects Budget Cuts; Alternative High School and BOCES at Risk

A tough budget season is ahead for the Lakeland Central School District, as a number of district-wide cuts are expected in order to comply with state demands. The Lakeland's participation in BOCES and the alternative high school are at risk. 

In the most recent proposal as presented by the board of education on March 3, the preliminary numbers came in over-budget. In addition, officials still need to cut about $3.1 million as required by Governor Andrew Cuomo, superintendent for business Ray Morningstar said. 

“There’s no way we’re going to go with this budget the way it is,” he said “We’re going to have to come down. It’s a balancing act, we don’t want to cut programs or lessons. On the other hand we have to tighten our belts.”

An area, proposed to see some significant cuts, is special education services, including BOCES and the . A few concerned parents showed up to voice their displeasure and plea their case for LAHS as an essential part of the district.

Zach Gerkhardt, an LAHS alum and current student at SUNY Delhi, shared his story on how much the program helped him. He entered the alternative school at third grade math level, he said, and within one year was at a tenth grade level. Gerkhardt attributed his current academic success to his time at the school.

Superintendent George Stone acknowledged the benefits of the school and said the discussion will be re-visited. His previous suggestion of placing those special needs students at BOCES or Fox Meadow in the event of a closing wasn’t warmly received, but it's still a possibility.

“There’s a responsibly to fall in a reasonable tax level,” Stone said. “To get there we have a lot of work to do… and it’s always our hope to make these cuts without taking away the livelihood of high quality teachers.”

While the alternative school isn't cut in this proposed budget, it's one of the leading candidates to get cut down by the next meeting. Officials are budgeting $1,269 less for LAHS. To keep it running, for the 2011-12 school year, officials would need to budget $825,868.

How much the district can save from the alternative high school depends on how many students go to BOCES, Stone said.

"We expect about 15 students may go to Fox Meadow if we closed and that would save Lakeland about $500,000," he said. "About 10 to 15 would go back to our regular high school where we plan to provide transitional support administratively, instructionally, socially and emotionally. We simply cannot say until the students actually decide where they want to go."

BOCES budget lines, that represent different programs, go up and down every year because of enrollment number changes and personnel changes, for example. 

The district has been exploring alternate programs for equal or less money, and officials are trying to reduce expenses by about $2 million. Aside from the alternative school, other programs where they could be more efficient are improving transportation, clubs and programs with low student enrollments. 

"Hopefully through retirements and resignations we can balance reductions in staffing without having to lay off employees," Stone said. "In terms of employee costs, our support staff and professional staff have already agreed in a previous agreement to freeze salary increases this year, so that will help."

An angry parent took issue with the entire financial burden falling on the taxpayers’ shoulders when the district employees could be making sacrifices themselves.

State mandates have also impacted books the district can buy.

"We are required by law, if a request comes from the private and parochial schools, to provide textbooks up to the amount that we provide textbooks in our own districts," Morningstar said.

The book budget is reimbursable up to a point; however, if the district goes over that allotted rate, they still have to provide the books to private schools.

The board will vote on the budget on April 7, and Carol Ann Dobson, the vice president of the board of education, said she doesn’t think it’s possible to make the necessary cuts in that time span. After that it will be up to the public to decide on the budget. 

"I hope we can discuss more and not get handed a list that says 'choose from column A and choose from column B,'" Dobson said. "Other than (LAHS), we haven’t had any real discussion of where we’re heading here. One meeting is not enough time to make major decisions."

The proposed BOCES curriculum budget is $60,200, down from the 2010-2011 budget of $93,708. The preliminary curriculum development and supervision budget is $341,627, down from this school year's $391,573 budget. 

Board members will be meeting one more time on March 17 to discuss further cuts before the final vote.

Editor's Note: The article has been updated from its original version to incorporate more details from Superintendent George Stone.