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Massena Central school chief recommends no tax increase for proposed budget

Posted 4/14/16

By ANDY GARDNER MASSENA -- Massena Central Superintendent Patrick Brady says he is recommending a zero percent tax increase under the 2016-2017 school budget. He says that’s because the district is …

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Massena Central school chief recommends no tax increase for proposed budget

Posted

By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- Massena Central Superintendent Patrick Brady says he is recommending a zero percent tax increase under the 2016-2017 school budget.

He says that’s because the district is receiving a decent state aid package this year.

“Because of the increase in state aid we received this year, we feel we could recommend a zero percent tax increase to the board,” Brady said. “We have a Board of Education meeting on Monday night where we’ll be having out final discussions on preparation of the 16-17 school budget.”

Massena Central School District is eligible for a total of $31.5 million in state aid, an increase of about $1.4 million or 4.62 percent more than the previous school year. Operational aid increased $2.1 million, or 8 percent. The district will receive $20.6 million in Foundation aid. A $6,880 restoration eliminates the GEA for the district.

He said they will use some fund balance, but will be able to reduce their reliance on the reserve funds and possibly restore positions.

“The increase in state aid allows us to accomplish three important goals,” Brady said. “Those are to minimize impact on property owners, reduce our reliance on fund balance for long-term stability and add back some support for our students, particularly in the area of elementary school for students at risk of not meeting standards in reading and math.”

He said on Monday, the board will consider which specific positions they could bring back.

“We’ve had some of these discussions with the board,” he said. “I’d like to address them with the full board. This is a public meeting, we’ll be presenting them a that time.”

Brady said they are looking at an approximate $51,244,000 budget that would levy around $14,500,000 in taxes. He said they are looking at holding a designated fund balance of about $2,500,000.

The increase in state aid will allow the district to create a new account to save money for capital projects, and send the proposition to the voters next month, Brady said.

“We are presenting a proposition to the voters to establish a capital reserve to prepare for future building projects, and the amount we’re recommending putting into that fund is $2,250,000,” he said.

The superintendent said he is happy with the proposed budget.

“It’s a balanced budget that helps us to realize several goals and a large part is the adequate state aid we received this year,” Brady said. “Given all the factors we faced, we hope we continue to see this type of support in the future.”