By MATT LINDSEY

PARISHVILLE – Parishville-Hopkinton Central School is looking to close a $300,000 gap in its budget through possibly eliminating a combination of teaching positions, sports and extracurricular programs.

A school board meeting held Monday night was described as “quite heated” by a North Country Now viewer who was in attendance.

The school superintendent did not see it that way.

“Community members were passionate about advocating for a solid education for their kids,” said Superintendent Darin P. Saiff.

He said about 37 people attended the meeting, which is quite a bit more than normal.

“People represented their arguments well and the majority of people were there to support teachers, athletics, music and extracurricular activities,” he said.

The proposed cuts could eliminate planned equipment purchases, eliminating or reducing some teaching positions or cutting sports and other extracurricular activities.

“The board has asked me to present several options for budgets…there are $700,000 in options,” Saiff said.

The cuts could include the elimination of an elementary teacher and a few part-time teaching positions, a teachers aide position, a cook and the reduction of full-time positions to part time.

Saiff said that in the case of an elementary teacher that the class size could grow from around 12-14 students to 20-24.

He acknowledged that small class sizes are one reason some parents choose smaller schools like PHCS.

“When your budget is so lean already, there is nothing left to cut except positions or programs,” Saiff said.

The list of options of personnel or programs to cut is far greater than the gap, he said.

Saiff says the board and community will have to look at budget options and weigh positions or programs that could be cut, the associated costs involved, and the impact it will have on students.

“I encourage interest in the budget and for people to attend to understand what is going on,” he said.

Saiff says the district has been battling balancing their budget for some time.

“We’ve been dealing with the Gap Elimination Adjustment for the last five years and it cost the district $2 million,” Saiff said.

Last spring, a budget proposal from Parishville-Hopkinton school officials was defeated by voters even though most who cast a ballot voted for it.

That’s because the school earnestly believed they needed to have a budget that exceeded the state-mandated cap of a two-percent increase per year. Under the tax cap rules, a budget with more than a two-percent increase over the year before would be approved only if it received a “super majority” of 60 percent of votes.

The PHCS budget votes did not meet that threshold, twice. The vote on June 16, 2015 was 206-140 in favor, but that was only a 59.5 percent favorable vote.

This year Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District is eligible for a total of $6.4 million in state aid, an increase of $133,760, or 2.14 percent more than the previous school year. Operational aid increased $179,339 or 3.26 percent. The district is eligible for $4.13 million in Foundation aid. A $15,146 restoration eliminated the GEA for the district.

But the increase in funding is still not enough, as the school and community now must discuss eliminating about $300,000 in costs through positions or programs.

“When dealing with a budget gap there are two things you can do…increase revenue or decrease expenditures,” he said. “The state aid falls short of filling our budget gap.”

A meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the school cafeteria.

“We are committed to the tradition of academic excellence and we take pride in our school and will do what we can to provide a safe, enriching environment for students,” Saiff said.