POTSDAM -- Potsdam Central School’s budget proposal includes a 3.22 percent tax levy increase, which is at the cap, providing a budgetary increase of around $413,252.

District officials discussed adding an in-school police officer versus contracting with the Potsdam Village Police for $30,000, which would provide a rotation of officers in the district.

Last night, the Potsdam Central Board of Education held a special meeting to discuss the budget, including the allocation of funding for an in-school officer for the 2018-19 school year.

The district was looking at a $450,000 budgetary gap prior to the state budget approval, however, the district received $17,107,988 in aid—about a 1.7 percent increase over the previous year.

Although there is still a gap in the budget, the board agreed to maintain the swimming program and keep the library media specialist at full-time, rather than scaling back to half-time as previously considered.

High School principal Mark Bennett presented a plan to increase a part-time Spanish, French, and art teacher to full time (.08 to 1)—this would result in an $18,000 cost increase. The board also discussed allocating $30,000 for an in-school police officer, which officials call a "school resource officer." This would amount to around $94,952 for the restored programs, officer and full-time teacher in the high school.

Some positions would not filled after retirements this year.

The proposed budget will be put to a vote at the regular board meeting April 16 at 6:30 p.m.

Fund Balance

The gap would be bridged using applied fund balance. However, Superintendent Joann Chambers explained that, “there are many misconceptions regarding the fund balance and how it can be used.”

“Part of the confusion stems from the fact that the term ‘fund balance’ can apply to the total fund balance, or any portion of it,” Chambers said.

Rebekah Grim, spokesperson for Potsdam Central, says a district’s fund balance is comprised of "Reserved Fund Balance" and "Unreserved Fund Balance.” The Reserved Fund Balance may only be allocated to specific purposes and cannot be used to bridge budgetary gaps.

“The unreserved fund balance, also called appropriated fund balance, is available to bridge budgetary gaps in the following fiscal year, although districts should maintain a portion of this for the following year,” Grim said in an email to NCTW. “The reserved amount is called unappropriated fund balance and must remain below 4 percent of the following year's total budget (§1318 of the Real Property Tax Law). The unappropriated fund balance should be maintained in order for the district to meet unanticipated expenditures that do not require voter approval. However, with voter approval it can be allocated for unanticipated expenditures such as capital project costs.”

Generally, it’s important for districts to maintain reserves and fund balance to maintain fiscal health, according to the superintendent.

“The district must operate within its means to be fiscally responsible, which means maintaining a fund balance each year,” Chambers said. “The district was audited by the NYS Comptroller last year and did not receive a note regarding our reserves and fund balance. The district will continue to be within the recommended limits for these accounts.”

In-School Police Proposals

The initial proposal was based on the Malone Central School District’s model, which employs a police officer.

The state’s cap on the salary a retiree can earn is $30,000 while still receiving retirement benefits.

“The county does not currently have a civil service title for an SRO, and retired officers may lose their certification after a period of time,” Grim told NCTW.

An alternative proposal was suggested for the district to contract with the Potsdam Village Police for $30,000, which would provide a rotation of officers in the district rather than a single officer.

Through this shared service model, the district would have an officer in the district for the entire school day, each day of the week. However, the officers would not be district employees.

At the meeting’s conclusion, the board had not reached any consensus regarding either proposal, but did agree to appropriate $30,000 in the 2018-19 budget for school safety, the details of which will be decided later, Grim said.

The possibility of adding an in-school cop has been widely discussed by the BoE, the district, and the community.

On April 3, 2018 the district held its second public forum on the topic. This was co-sponsored by the Potsdam Village Police Department, PTSA, and the PCS Cares parent group.

About 50 parents and community members attended, along with several school administrators and BOE members.