2013-14 Budget News

See the 2013-14 budget brochure

To see a PDF of the budget brochure, click here.

Fort Plain Board of Education adopts 19.3 million budget for 2013-14
Proposal includes art program restorations

The Fort Plain Central School District Board of Education unanimously adopted the $19,300,000school budget for 2013-14 at its regular meeting on April, 16. The proposed spending plan, which calls for a year-to-year spending increase of 3.76 percent, would carry a tax levy increase of 0.95 percent. The budget goes before voters on May 21. (full story)

Fort Plain focused on maintaining programs and staying below tax levy limit for 2013-14 school budget

The Fort Plain Central School District Board of Education has begun developing its budget for the 2013-14 school year with a goal of maintaining programs without increasing taxes above the district’s tax levy limit (sometimes referred to in the media as a "2 percent tax cap"). (full story)

Watch a video on the Gap Elimination Adjustment

The Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA), which is essentially an annual aid “take back” by the state to balance the state budget, has significantly reduced the total amount of state aid Fort Plain has received since 2010-2011. Please see the video here. To learn about the problems facing public schools, click here to watch a video. To visit the Statewide School Finance Consortium, click here.

2012-13 Budget Information

The Fort Plain Central School District Board of Education unanimously adopted the $18,600,000 school budget for 2012-13 on May 15. The spending plan calls for a year-to-year spending increase of 2.48 percent, and carries a tax levy increase of 0.99 percent. To see the story about the budget click here. To see a copy of the budget brochure, click here. Also, here is a copy of the Legal Budget Vote Notice.

What are the realities of school budgeting?

     REALITY #1 is that much of a school budget is “untouchable.” For example, a school district cannot cut courses that are required for graduation, eliminate services that are mandated by the state and federal governments or reduce benefits that have been negotiated as part of an employee contract. There are also some parts of the budget that are fully state aidable, such as textbooks and library books. Reducing those lines would only result in a cut in revenues and would save little or nothing for local taxpayers.

       REALITY #2 is that most of the money spent in education is on “people costs.” Every program the district offers, every service it provides, and every task it carries out on behalf of students requires people to do the actual work. That means if school districts are to cut their costs by a substantial amount, they can not avoid cutting people – which not only hurts those whose positions have been eliminated but also adds to the country’s unemployment problems.

       REALITY #3 is that some cuts look good on paper but don’t work out in practice. For example, the elimination of one teaching position can in some cases do more than just raise class sizes. In a district as small as Fort Plain, it can actually make it impossible to schedule every student into their required courses.

2011-12 Budget News