NORTH NORWICH – The school boards of each of the 16 districts which comprise the Delaware-Chenango-Madison-Otsego BOCES will vote on the cooperative education organization’s 2011-12 administrative budget Monday.
Totaling $2.14 million, the proposed budget includes a $8,393, or .4 percent, reduction in spending from the current year’s budget, according to DCMO BOCES Superintendent Bill Tammaro.
Despite the decrease in overall spending in the administrative budget, schools will be picking up a larger share this year. The amount each district pays is calculated based on their Resident Weighted Average Daily Attendance (RWADA), which measures the size of a district based on attendance. Although some schools may actually see a decrease because of the RWADA ratio, on average component districts will see a 1.45 percent increase over last year, reported Assistant Superintendent of Management Services Doreen Rowe.
The BOCES budget is comprised of three components: administrative, capital and program. The administrative portion is the only one which districts vote on directly. They “vote” on the other two by selecting services, Rowe explained.
As proposed, the administrative component represents 5.047 percent of the tentative 2011-12 budget. The $4,644,298 capital budget accounts for 10.9 percent. The largest piece of the pie is the program portion, which at $35,656,233 represents 84 percent of the total spending plan.
At $42,422,809, the total tentative 2011-12 budget represents a $104,968 decrease in spending from the current year. Because of the continued decline in interest earnings and sharp increases in retirement contributions and health care premiums, cutting overall expenses required steeper cuts.
According to Rowe, $28,780 was cut from equipment budget lines, $7,463 from contractual services and $93,078 from supplies. The largest cuts, however, were in personnel. Staff has been reduced by the equivalent of 13.95 full-time employees across several departments.
“We staff by FTE,” she explained.
The decision was also made to tap into accrued liability funds to offset increases in retiree benefit expenses.
The cuts are being made without cutting programs.
“We’re still offering the services the districts are requesting,” Rowe said.
In fact, because of the emphasis on shared services and cooperation, more districts are reaching out to utilize what DCMO BOCES has to offer, particularly the financial and auditing services offered by the Central Business Office. They’ve also had requests to expand Print Shop services, and are adding itinerant teaching positions in two new fields – technology and home and careers. More districts are taking advantage of the online learning opportunities which DCMO BOCES began offering this year, as well.
There are also new programs in the works, Tammaro said. One is a new Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) CTE course, which will roll out this fall at the Chenango Campus. They are poised to offer several programs to provide training for those seeking work in the natural gas industry.
These programs and others in the pipeline are all a result of requests by the component districts, he explained.
“They are brainstorming all different ideas,” Tammaro said.
BOCES is governed by a board of education. This year two of the seats on the seven member board are up for election. These too will be determined in the April 18 vote.
Incumbent board members Richard Dillon (Hancock) and Linda Zaczek (GMU) are both running for re-election. A third name, that of challenger William J. Lyons (Unadilla Valley), will also appear on the ballot.
Sidebars
Breakdown of district share of the DCMO BOCES Administrative & Capital budget
Administrative Capital
2010-11 2011-12 2010-11 2011-12
Afton $86,162 $87,812 $198,296 $199,202
B-G $123,229 $123,617 $283,604 $280,425
Delhi $110,808 $112,416 $255,017 $255,014
