WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. February 25, 2009 UPDATED 4:16 P.M. E.S.T. UPDATED February 26, 2009 11:35 A.M. EST : The Board of Education unveiled its “Austerity Budget,” Wednesday evening to mixed reactions at the high school. The public as a whole did not demand more cuts in the Preliminary School Budget set at $185.9 Million, (the lowest year-to-year increase in thirteen years), but mainly asked questions that demonstrated a lack of familiarity with district expenses. Main concern focused on cutting teachers and teacher aids.
The Superintendent of Schools said that if the School Budget were voted down, the district could choose to offer another vote, or lower the budget at the Board’s discretion but were prevented from putting out a budget higher than any budget the district votes down. It was pointed out that the current expense budget is .81% higher than the budget last year. And, the Contingency Budget believed to be allowed this year would enable a 4% year-to-year increase.
Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors background with microphone and Assistant Superintendent for Business, Fred Seiler, foreground fielding questions from about 150 persons last night at the second Community Budget Forum.
The Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors would not report the number of teacher, administrator, custodial and secretarial cuts in personnel until he said he shared the specific cuts with the schools. A teachers union representative, Joan Traber said the district had not shared the exact number of cuts of teachers and assistants with the Teachers Union going into the second round of state-mediated negotiations today. The Superintendent said a possible settlement was planned for in the new budget, and it would not have to be increased with any settlement.
In response to an angry tax payer surprised by the stealth cut in STAR Exemptions last spring that cost White Plains taxpayers unanticipated taxes , the Superintendent said as soon as the district received word from New York State as to cuts in the STAR BASIC and ENHANCED Exemptions (that lower home assessed values reducing property taxes) he would share that with the public.
Fred Seiler, the Assistant Superintendent for Business said the school district anticipated a $2.5 Million cut in education aid. He also made a point that a 1% expense increase did not translate into a 1% tax increase, which Seiler admitted would drive the tax rate up. Seiler said the district anticipated lower assessed Value. His point was that though the district had only raised their budget less than 1%, that taxes would still be going up due to declining school aid, declining revenues from assessments.
He also said that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority proposal to tax school districts, if enacted, would cost the White Plains district an additional $325,000 plus added to the budget. That, WPCNR computes, would move the year-to-year budget increase up to .9% from the .81%
The Superintendent noted the school district is seeing an increase in enrollment at the kindergarten and the high school levels from private schools as the economy deteriorates. He also stated that the Emerging Scholars Program, originally given to WPCNR on a list of summer programs to be eliminated two weeks ago, was not going to be eliminated.
The budget presently is $1.5 Million higher (0.8% higher) than the 08-09 budget. This is the lowest school budget year-to-year increase since 1995 when the budget was $87.8 Million and increased only 1.94% .
For a more complex analysis of the Preliminary Budget published earlier this week follows.
In the thirteen years since, the school budget has more than doubled to the suggest $185.9 Million made public Monday evening, a .81% increase, increasing the tax rate an estimated $11 per $1,000 of assessed value by WPCNR estimates before the district considers its 09-10 revenues, giving a tax increase of approximately $150 for the $500,000 to $700,000 home, and substantially more over $200 and up for homes valued higher than $700,000.
The $4.3 Million in cuts the school district made from the $190.3 Million submitted are mainly layoffs, attrition and retirements amounting to about 30 persons based on an estimate of $100,000 in salary and benefits for each person whether they be teacher, secretary, custodian or teaching aid.
The Superintendent of Schools has declined to reveal the number of persons who will lose jobs, will be retiring, or whatever, if these are real people or not. For years the district has been told you can’t cut teachers without reducing teacher-student rations and thus increasing class size.
Well this year, the district said Monday, they can. It raises the question of why more personnel cannot be cut, why suddenly after years of increases of 6 and 7% the district can suddenly lop off their essential overhead.
WPCNR’s Math Lab says it all depends on where the city assessment roll ends up after the record number of assessment challenges. Depending on how the City Board of Assessment Review rules on the current assessment roll, stopped for the moment at 288.4 Million, $3.3 Million less than last year’s $291.7 Million roll. Because the Preliminary Budget announced Monday night is $1.5 Million higher, it amplifies the assessment decline by another million and change that has to be made up by the tax rate.
No handle on Revenues
The school district significantly has not estimated “revenues” yet. All they have done is look at expenses. The Assessment Roll at $288.4 Million means they are down in tax base (last year, $291.4 Million) creating a $1.6 Million revenue shortfall. They have chosen to add $1.5 Million to the budget, so they need to “find”$3.1 Million in revenue, and this is before they get the word on what state education aid will be cut.
Going into tonight’s meeting, WPCNR estimates that if state aid remains the same as last year, which is doubtful, the district has to make up a minimum of $3.3 Million in revenue from the taxpayers, just based on the documented assessment roll decline, prior to the assessment roll being set in stone March 2.
For the School District to make up the $3.3 Million just from the drop in the Assessment, plus the $1.5 Million more in spending programs the tax rate needs to increase to $513 and change per $1,000 of assessed valuation from the current rate of $503 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
This will mean for the average house assessed at $15,145 of assessed value (about a $650,000-$700,000 home) an automatic tax increase of $166 ($7,784 compared to $7618 this year) . If your assessment is $20,000 you’re going up $220. ($10,280 compared to $10,060)
PROPOSED STEALTH STAR BASIC AND ENHANCED CUTS INCREASE TAX IMPACT DISCREETLY
If, however the STAR BASIC and ENHANCED EXEMPTIONS are reduced 18% as planned by Governor David Paterson, your assessed value will go up – even though your assessment remains the same.
As WPCNR pointed out exclusively in 2008 when the legislature secretly lowered the BASIC and ENHANCED Stars to pay for increased state education aid restoration, the Governor’s office is planning this again in 2009-10. According to Assemblyman Adam Bradley, the Assembly is fighting this proposal, so at least the Assembly and presumably the State Senate know about it. They professed not to know of the 10% cut in the Basics and Enchanceds last year.
This year on the $650,000 to $700,000 home, should the STARs be cut 18%, this will mean your assessment goes up automatically $731 – (I know this is complicated but bare with the CitizeNetReporter here) – lowering the amount you can deduct from your assessment and therefore increasing your property tax.
Here’s how it works for the $650,000 to $700,000 home if you’re under 65, when this year you enjoyed, as did all homes in White Plains and the state, a $3,330 STAR BASIC EXEMPTION.
If the Governor has his way, your exemption will be cut to $2,731. Deduct this from your $18,475 Assessed Value and your assessed value is not $15,145 as it is this year, but $15,744.
State Taxes an Additional $599 in Assessed Value.
The Bottom line WPCNR Math Lab School Tax Calculator (pending other revenue cuts or revenue additions) then places your increased school tax at $8,092, ($514 per $1,000 of assessed value times 15.744), this means, pending revenue projections by the school district your school tax for the $700,000 home will go from $7,618 to $8,092, a tax increase of $474.
If your assessment is $20,000 of assessed value it increases to $20,600 increasing your school tax to $10,588 from $10,280 – that is an extra $308 in tax – if the 18% goes through.
For Seniors STAR ENHANCED CUT adds $588 to their 09-10 Tax In addition
The impact on seniors of an 18% STAR ENHANCED CUT is brutal.
This year the Senior Enhanced exemptions for homeowners over 65 was $6,500. If the Governor’s program to lower the exemption floor 18% is adopted, the senior Enhanced STAR Exemption declines $1,170 to $5,330 they may deduct from your assessed value.
In our mythical $650,000 to $700,000 home, with an assessment of $18,475, the senior has $5,330 he or she can deduct giving them an assessed value of $13,145. They pay a new school tax of $6,756 (13.1 times the new tax rate of $514) instead of $6,168.
The 18% reduction in the Enhanced STAR delivers to seniors over 65 an automatic increase of $588 on top of the $6,152 they pay at the straight predicted $514 per thousand rate.
So the district residents attending tonight have to cross their fingers that the state education aid will not change (in this case, go lower).
Bottom line, going into the state budget deliberations for 09-10, you have to hope that STAR EXEMPTION cut gets stricken or eased somewhat, otherwise the impact will deliver a more taxing blow.
The Tax Impact Overall.
Updating the WPCNR tax outlook published last week: here is how the tax increases for each taxable authority impact the $650,000 to $700,000 homeowner in White Plains with a house assessed at $15,145 assessed value.
SCHOOL TAX: $7,784
CITY TAX (WITH $167M BUDGET: $4,000
COUNTY TAX: $2,400
TOTAL ESTIMATED 2009-10 TAX BILL ($700,000 HOME): $14,284
TOTAL 2009-2009 TAX BILL: $12,600
YOUR YEAR TO YEAR TAX INCREASE: $1,684*
This could be reduced if the city or the school districted reduced their budgets from the School District $185.9 Million, and if the city cut their present budget from $161.7 Million, and did not roll it over to $167 Million to cover projected deficits and sales tax shortfalls. There is still time for frugal financial management by the city and the school district to lower their budget.
