By ANDY GARDNER

MADRID -- Madrid-Waddington Central’s superintendent says he expects the district will come in under the state-mandated tax cap for their 2017-18 budget.

“We’re looking at a likely tax increase. Right now our allowable tax cap is 2.79 [percent] and we anticipate coming in under the tax cap, as far as the levy increase is concerned,” MWCS Superintendent Eric Burke said.

Their proposed spending plan is just over $15 million and is about a 5.5 increase over last year’s spending. They are looking at using $750,000 in fund balance, $50,000 more than last year.

He says they are looking at eliminating a position through a retirement and stopping several services they get through BOCES.

Burke said they will nix a guidance secretary through retirement as well as eliminate a BOCES shared technology teacher who is retiring.

“We think we can handle the sections in-house,” Burke said.

He said they will also eliminate a .4-time elementary counselor through BOCES, as well as terminate the BOCES distance learning lab for lack of student use.

Burke said the spending plan is more austere than he would prefer.

“It’s certainly tighter than I would like it to be. We’ve had significant increases, particularly in the area of healthcare. Anytime you’re having to cut back on services for students, it definitely has an impact and that’s not a potion I want to be in,” Burke said. “I think certainly we’ve hopeful the amount of state aid revenue increase before the state budget is finalized. Revenue-wise, we’re based on the governor’s proposal. Anything else is speculation.

“We’re hopeful for more revenue so we can look at restoring services for our students.”

The M-W Board of Education has yet to adopt a budget for which they will seek voter approval. They will meet twice in April and could vote at their first meeting.

“What’s really going to drive that is state budget, if it’s finalized or not,” Burke said.