As budget revote approaches, district discusses the consequences of contingency

The Northport-East Northport Board of Education made a final presentation of its revised budget yesterday evening at a public hearing that offered more clarifications and less public commentary than in meetings past.

The original budget failed by 167 votes on May 18, the first time a NEN school budget fell short of voter approval in over 15 years. The revised budget, presented to the community and adopted by the BOE last week, decreased by $14,960 to $174,689,788, and carries a 0% tax levy. It is up for a revote on June 15. So what happens if the revised budget fails and the district is forced to adopt a contingency budget?

The first consequence of a contingency budget is that a district may not increase its tax levy over the prior year. In NEN’s case, the levy would remain at the newly proposed 0%. (The district announced last week $1 million of unanticipated extra help from the state government, effectively lowering the proposed tax levy from the original 0.75% to zero).

Because the proposed 2021-22 budget and the contingency budget both have a 0% levy increase, the immediate financial impact to the taxpayer is the same – school taxes will not go up either way, explained Superintendent Robert Banzer in his short presentation. However, he stated, a contingency budget can have immediate and future consequences for students. “There is an impact going forward, there is an impact to our school operations – a negative impact – and to our programs,” he said.

According to the New York State Education Department’s Budgeting Handbook, “When a board of education is faced with adopting a contingent budget after the voters have refused or continue to refuse to approve the budget, the crucial question is the determination of what constitutes ordinary contingent expenditures.”

Ordinary contingent expenses are those deemed to be necessary to operate and maintain schools, and the emphasis should be on those expenditures considered essential to maintain an educational program, preserve property, and assure the health and safety of students and staff, reads the handbook.

The responsibility for determining which items in a school district budget fall under the concept of "ordinary contingent expenses" rests with the board of education.

Bob Lowry, director of advocacy and communication at NYSCOSS (NYS Council of School Superintendents), said in an email conversation with the Journal, “If a district is proposing a budget with the same levy as for the current year, the question becomes what could the district do under a voter-approved budget that it could not do under a contingent budget.”

When posed with the same question, the district presented a chart that detailed just what would be lost in a contingency budget, and what would be up to the board’s discretion.

Roof replacements, playgrounds at the middle schools and over $1 million in other equipment would have to be removed in a contingency budget, said Mr. Banzer. Maintaining extra- and co-curricular programs, and related transportation services, as well as desired class ratios, would be up to the board and its trustees.

“The proposed budget with the 0% levy increase allows us to move forward some very important capital projects, some very important operational needs, and keeps us on a path that is certainly more sustainable,” Mr. Banzer added. With regard to student programs and extracurricular opportunities, there is discretion regarding what may or may not be cut.

One thing to bear in mind, said Mr. Lowry, is that budget actions in one year can reverberate in future years – for example, if a district does not replace equipment or buses.

A contingency budget creates a funding gap for such items, the district explained in a statement to the Journal. “It does not negate the need for these items, but rather pushes them into future years’ budgets. It is often in the years following a contingency budget when decisions regarding programming and opportunities for students are impacted the hardest in order to make up for the funding gap that has been created.”

The budget revote is scheduled for Tuesday, June 15, from 6am to 9pm at Fifth Avenue, Dickinson Avenue and William J. Brosnan. Residents must vote at their designated polling place, which can be found here: https://es.findmypollplace.com/NorthportENCSD/AmIRegistered.

The 2021-2022 revised school budget presentation can be found here: http://northport.k12.ny.us/Assets/2021-2022_Budget/52721_BOE_Budget_presentationFINAL.pdf?t=637577953045900000.