VERONA — An approximately 1 percent local tax levy increase and no program deletions are in the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill school district’s tentative 2012-13 budget that Superintendent Norman Reed said is "much more reasonable than where we were at last year." Pay freezes accepted by teachers and administrators for basic raises are among savings in the $31.67 million spending plan, which is down about $103,000 from the current 2011-12 budget that included an approximately 4 percent tax increase and 20 layoffs.
A public hearing on the tentative budget will be Monday, May 7, at 7 p.m. at the VVS high school/middle school media center. Approval from district voters will be sought in the May 15 election. The budget would take effect July 1; the 2012-13 tax increase would add about $19 to the bill for a house assessed at $100,000, before the state’s STAR exemption.
Voters last year rejected the 2011-12 budget that had proposed a 5.89 percent tax increase, resulting in the district currently using a contingency budget that was down about $500,000 from 2010-11. Reed cited a "number of program reductions" and staff cuts in that budget; about 30 teaching and support positions were eliminated including 20 layoffs. The 2012-13 budget would eliminate two teacher positions by attrition, but no layoffs.
The new budget includes a savings of slightly over $200,000 after the district’s approximately 170 teachers volunteered for a freeze in basic raises, said Reed. Some teachers still will receive automatic longevity-related "step increases," he said, but the savings will be more than half of the overall $400,000 pay increase that was scheduled; the total increase would have been about 4 percent. The seven administrators who volunteered not to take 4 percent increases will save the district about $25,000 more, Reed said. Also taking a pay freeze will be nine central office staffers, for an additional savings of about $10,000, he added.
The 2012-13 budget does call for 1.5 percent pay increases for about 120 support staffers including clerical, custodial, transportation and buildings and grounds positions, but Reed noted they voluntarily took freezes in 2011-12. Among other savings are about $92,000 in administrative salaries and benefits. Reed will become assistant superintendent for finance for a year before retiring, and his salary will not exceed $150,000 instead of the $199,000 he was scheduled to reach as superintendent. Martha Group, current assistant superintendent for instruction, will be new superintendent at a salary not to exceed $155,000, up from about $132,000. In another change, Carrie Hodkinson will be the new middle-school principal at a salary of $87,070, down from the $100,729 salary of James Kramer who is retiring.
Helping to offset state aid cuts and balance the budget, said Reed, is the use of about $2.4 million in fund balance/savings. The district still will have about $5 million left in allocated and unallocated fund balances pending year-end calculations, he added.
