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The New Rochelle Board of Education tonight (5/29) adopted a new 2018-2019 budget that stays within the state tax cap while preserving educational programs and allowing for additional student social-emotional support and safety measures.

With input and direction from the Board of Education, the budget, proposed by the Superintendent, removed $3.4 million from the tax levy that was included in the $272.8 million spending plan rejected by voters on May 15. The reduction was needed to produce a budget with a tax levy increase that stays at or below the state cap of 2.231 percent for New Rochelle.

"This budget protects the District's core strategic priorities and avoids any unnecessary cuts that would directly impact students," Superintendent Dr. Brian Osborne said. "It also allows the District to stay within the tax cap and maintain the fiscal health that we have worked so hard to improve."

The measures total $3,398,617 in savings, reductions and additional revenue. They are:

$736,867: Foregoing the planned addition of three psychologists and three social workers.
$642,219: Foregoing the inclusion of several contingent positions placed in the budget for unexpected needs.
$200,000: A reduction from the initial $420,000 set aside to implement safety and security recommendations from the Task Force on Reducing Violence in the Lives of Children and Youth and from Guidepost Solutions. (The proposed budget allocates $200,000 for the recommendations.)
$598,778: Savings from a retirement incentive offered earlier this year that were not known when the initial budget was presented.
$245,069: Savings in technology purchasing by eliminating redundancy and products that are under-used.
$975,684: Appropriation from the employee retirement system reserve fund.

The new plan retains the addition of four high school counselors, one in each house, to address the need for social and emotional development. It would also retain the addition of 2.1 full-time equivalent (FTE) English as a New Language teachers divided among Albert Leonard Middle School, Isaac E. Young Middle School and William B. Ward Elementary School; three special education teachers (one each at the high school and each of the middle schools); and a teaching assistant and education aide, both in special education, also for the high school.

A public hearing on the budget will be held June 5, also at 7 p.m. in the high school library. The plan will be put to a public vote on June 19.

If voters reject the second budget, the District must adopt a contingency budget, which restricts the tax levy to the same size as this year's - $204,441,642. To reach that level, the District would need to cut about $4.5 million more - or nearly $8 million from the initial proposed budget. The District would need to consider measures such as forgoing capital expenses for security infrastructure and cafeteria improvements, eliminating non-mandated transportation, reducing athletics and extracurricular activities, cutting staff positions, increasing class sizes and diminishing elective class offerings.

Find the proposed budget here.

The following letter was emailed to the community from Superintendent Dr. Brian Osborne yesterday, on the eve of today's (May 15) vote on the budget:

New Rochelle community,

The proposed $272.8 million 2018-19 school budget that voters in New Rochelle will decide on tomorrow (May 15) has become a topic of spirited debate on social media and elsewhere, resulting in much confusing information circulating in the community.

There is an FAQ on the district website that presents the facts on several topics about the budget that are of interest to residents in the City School District of New Rochelle. Below are a few of these Q and A. Please review these items, and to learn more about the plan, find a wealth of information, including a comprehensive Q&A, by visiting http://www.nred.org/

What is the tax impact of the budget?

The proposed tax levy increase is 3.89%. Based on the tax assessor’s estimates, the tax rate would increase an estimated 4.14 percent. That would result in an increase in the annual tax bill of $507.68 for a home with a market value of about $695,000, the city median (based on the average home assessment in the city of $16,000.) The new tax rate would be $798.50 per $1,000 of assessed value. That’s an increase of $31.73 per $1,000 over the current rate of $766.77 per $1,000. The tax bill for a home assessed at the city average would be $12,776, up from $12,268.32 this year. Owners of less expensive homes would see smaller increases and lower bills; more expensive homes would generate larger increases in the annual tax bill.

What will happen to STAR Exemptions?

The STAR tax exemptions will not be affected by the budget. If the budget is adopted with a tax levy increase higher than the cap, taxpayers who receive Basic STAR will lose, for one year, an additional benefit, the property tax relief credit. The credit is calculated as a portion of a taxpayer’s Basic STAR savings and is offered in addition to those STAR benefits.

What happens if the budget fails?

If the budget is not passed by voters, the Board of Education has the option to adopt a second plan to be put to voters on June 19. To stay within the District’s tax cap of a 2.231 percent increase in the tax levy, $3.4 million would need to be cut from the currently proposed budget.

What’s a contingency budget?

If voters defeat an adopted budget on the second try, the District must adopt a contingency budget. For that, the amount of money to be raised by taxes must be no higher than that of the current budget – $204.4 million. To reach that level, the District would have to cut nearly $8 million from the current plan.

Also, the District would be limited to funding only those costs deemed absolutely necessary to operate and maintain schools.

Measures that would be considered include:

Stopping the transfer of more than $2.4 million to capital funds – money earmarked for security improvements and to update and improve school cafeterias.
Elimination of any transportation not mandated for the operation of the schools.
Barring use of buildings or fields by any outside group unless the entire cost was covered by the group.
Cutting athletics and other extra-curricular activities.
Cuts in staff positions, leading to larger class sizes, fewer elective offerings and reduced student support services.

Shouldn’t we use additional fund balance or reserves to lower this year’s tax levy?

A detailed explanation of the purpose and usage of reserve funds is found in the district’s draft reserve plan. To briefly summarize:

The budget does propose using $1.4 million of the District’s fund balance of $10.9 million.

Fund balances and reserves are important for a district’s fiscal solvency. Appropriate balances and reserves enable a district to secure a favorable credit rating, withstand economic downturn, and protect against known liabilities. The use of fund balances should be limited to protracted economic recessions. During the next economic downturn, the District will need the fund balance to stabilize educational programs and taxes.

While the District is financially stronger than just a few years ago, it faces the same daunting challenges as other school districts across the state. Generally, school districts are facing rising fixed costs that are outpacing slower revenue growth, namely state aid revenue. As a result, many school districts are in the unfortunate position of spending down their fund balances. This is a slippery slope. A low fund balance puts pressure on the quality of a school district’s credit ratings, making borrowing for capital expenses more expensive. By improving our credit rating, we have already saved taxpayers $500,000 in borrowing costs.

Using additional fund balance or reserves in the 2018-2019 budget would merely push the budget gap created by the tax cap to the next fiscal year. At that time, the District would need to address how to fund those continuing programs and operations without the appropriate resources. Utilization of reserves and fund balance requires a long-term view to maintain proper tax stabilization. It is very important when using reserves or any fund balance to keep in mind that using these funds for ongoing operations creates a long-term need to fund continuing programs and operations.

Michael Borges, Executive Director of the New York State Association of School Business Officials, as quoted in The Journal News, says; “This year you’re seeing a smattering of budgets where you are having program cuts and layoffs, which is due to school districts drawing on their reserves and a low state aid increase. This may be the tip of the iceberg this year.”

Factors causing districts to attempt tax cap overrides include a 2018-2019 state budget providing one of the lowest year-over-year increases in Foundation Aid for schools, and districts enrolling more students with disabilities, those whose native language isn’t English and economically disadvantaged students, Borges told the news organization.

Why not use the $3.5 million noted as anticipated Tax Certiorari (tax cert) payments in the 2018-19 Budget Statement to reduce this year’s tax levy?

The reserve fund for anticipated tax certiorari (tax cert) payments is not intended for use to lower the tax levy. The anticipated payment of $3.5 million is an estimate determined in conjunction with the City of New Rochelle tax assessor projecting tax claims that may be settled during the 2018-2019 school year. Typically, a tax cert case combines claims made for each of several years. The prior years’ funds are locked in the reserves and are not available to be applied to the 2018-2019 budget to reduce taxes. In fact, the use of tax certiorari reserve funds is governed by Education Law Sec. 3651(1-a) and is set up to be used for a specific purpose. It may not be used to finance ongoing operations

The Tax Cert Reserve is funded each year from operating surplus, when possible. (In 2014-15, for instance, no such fund existed, forcing the District to borrow money for the prior year’s tax cert payments.) Based on past settlement rates and consultation with the City’s tax assessor, an appropriate reserve amount is calculated to be $0.30 for every $1.00 of existing claims. Funds must be used within four years of being placed in reserve, unless there are claims that are still unsettled.

Each year a separate sub-account of the reserve fund is created that can only be drawn upon for claims filed during that year. A tax cert claim must be filed in the year that the property in question is believed to be over-assessed. A claim cannot be filed for a previous year.

The settlement year is a future date, but the money will be paid from the reserve claim year to cover the outflow of cash. If the account for that claim year has already been used and no balance remains, the payment for the tax settlement will need come from the current year’s budget. This will require a budgetary transfer and a reduction of funds available for the current year’s program and operations.

Could the budget process be more transparent?

The proposed budget, with extensive supplemental information, is available on the District website, www.nred.org. Many costs are broken down by school, including instructional salaries, textbooks, computer equipment and supplies and materials such as copy paper, crayons and glassware for science laboratories. Staffing levels and projections are also posted on the site. Some costs, such as special education programs or computer software, are budgeted as a district expense rather than a school expense because they support districtwide programs.

The budget process is far more transparent than in the past. This is evident from various items, including:

1) Vigorous zero-based budget process resulting in a zero-based budget document that is available to the public.

2) Multiple community meetings open to the public and live-streamed for those who could not attend.

3) Lengthy public budget presentations prepared by the administrators and staff members who actually prepared the various sections of the budget (i.e. assistant superintendents, directors, principals, etc.).

Thank you for your interest in making an informed decision, and please remember to vote tomorrow, May 15, between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.

Sincerely,

Brian G. Osborne

Superintendent

City School District of New Rochelle

School Announcements

Barnard Supports Autism Awareness!

In support of Autism Awareness month (April 1-April 30) Barnard students wore blue to school on Friday, April 20th, 2018. Students also worked with Mrs. Bahar, Miss Da'Loia-Moore, and Barnard's PBIS team to develop a better understanding and appreciation for individuals of all capabilities. They then participated in various activities in support of those with Autism.

If you are interested, the presentation shared with classes today can be found here (Barnard Supports Autism Awareness).

Barnard Early Childhood Center

Message from the Principal

December 22, 2017

Dear Parents and Guardians:

We hope the New Year brings joy and success to all of you. As many of us do, we make New Year’s Resolutions that are often broken before two weeks have passed! We thought we might suggest a few that will endure throughout the year. These are designed to help your children continue growing as students in every way. Research shows, and we have found, that following these “resolutions” increases student achievement, and creates learning habits that endure throughout students’ school experiences.

So, in the spirit of starting the New Year off by creating habits of mind and study habits that will enrich the lives of your children, please consider the following:

When your children come home from school:

Engage them in conversation about their school day (favorite part, who they played with, something new that they learned)
Give them a healthy snack (fruit, cheese and crackers, yogurt)
Have a space specifically designated as a “work space.” Have crayons, pencils, colored pencils, markers, erasers, glue sticks, scissors, construction paper, drawing paper, writing paper, a journal, books brought home from school or library, and any other materials your children would like to have in that space. If your child uses the computer for reading and math, the space can be designed around the computer area. The space should be in a quiet area in any room of your home.
After snack, your children should settle in to do twenty minutes of reading and math, (books, magazines, math games, Raz Kids, Dreambox).
Enjoy dinner together if possible (schedules can make this difficult to do on a regular basis).
Enjoy game night at least once per week as a family (board games, card games, math games, puzzles).
Begin the bedtime routine thirty minutes before your children go to sleep (Research has shown children need at least eight to ten hours of sleep per night). Help your children decide what they will wear to school the next day. Make sure all folders, notes, and papers are in their back packs and ready to go for the next day.
Enjoy reading a story to your children, or having your children read to you (picture reading for the very young ones) as they settle in for the night.
Kisses and hugs before saying “Goodnight.”

When your children wake up in the morning:

Make sure they are awake at least forty-five minutes before the bus arrives or you’re ready to leave for school.
Have a healthy breakfast if they are eating at home (whole grain cereal, eggs, juice, fruit, toast, milk)
Complete their morning routine ( brush their teeth, comb their hair, get dressed)
Have a positive conversation about how much fun they will have learning and being with their teachers and friends in school.
Be at the bus stop ten minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive, or bring them to school for early drop off breakfast at 8:00 or arrival time 8:25.
Kisses and hugs before saying “Have a great day!”

We hope these “resolutions” or some of them can become a part of your family’s daily routine. Even incorporating a few of them is a great start to a wonderful new year full of promise and hope.

Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Dr. Cracco Dr. Pisani
Principal Assistant Principal

___________________________________________

22 de diciembre de 2017

Queridos padres y guardianes:

Esperamos que el Año Nuevo les traiga alegría y éxito a todos ustedes. Como muchos de nosotros hacemos, ¡hacemos Resoluciones de Año Nuevo que a menudo se rompen antes de que hayan pasado dos semanas! Pensamos que podríamos sugerir algunos que perduren durante todo el año. Estos están diseñados para ayudar a sus hijos a seguir creciendo como estudiantes en todos los sentidos. La investigación muestra, y hemos encontrado, que seguir estas "resoluciones" aumenta el rendimiento estudiantil y crea hábitos de
aprendizaje que perduran a lo largo de las experiencias escolares de los estudiantes.

Por lo tanto, en el espíritu de comenzar el nuevo año creando hábitos mentales y de estudio que enriquecerán las vidas de sus hijos, tenga en cuenta lo siguiente:

Cuando sus hijos llegan a casa de la escuela:

Involucrarlos en la conversación sobre su día escolar (parte favorita, con quién jugaron, algo nuevo que aprendieron)
Déles un bocadillo saludable (fruta, queso y galletas, yogur)
Tener un espacio designado específicamente como un "espacio de trabajo." Tenga crayones, lápices, lápices de colores, marcadores, borradores, barras de pegamento, tijeras, papel de construcción, papel de dibujo, papel para escribir, diario, libros traídos a casa de la escuela o biblioteca y cualquier otro material que a sus hijos les gustaría tener en ese espacio. Si su hijo usa la computadora para lectura y matemática, el espacio puede diseñarse alrededor del área de la computadora. El espacio debe estar en un área tranquila en cualquier
habitación de su hogar.
Después de la merienda, sus hijos deben acomodarse para hacer veinte minutos de lectura y matemáticas (libros, juegos de matemáticas, Raz Kids, Dreambox).
Disfruta de la cena juntos si es posible (los horarios pueden hacer que esto sea difícil de hacer regularmente).
Disfruta de la noche de juegos al menos una vez por semana como familia (juegos de mesa, juegos de cartas, juegos de matemáticas, rompecabezas).
Comience la rutina de acostar treinta minutos antes de que sus hijos vayan a dormir (Las investigaciones han demostrado que los niños necesitan al menos de ocho a diez horas de dormir cada noche). Ayude a sus hijos a decidir qué ropa llevaran a la escuela al día siguiente. Asegúrese de que todas las carpetas, notas y documentos estén en la mochila listos para el próximo día.
Disfruta leyendo un cuento a tus hijos, o haciendo que tus hijos te lean (“leer los dibujos” para los más pequeños) mientras se establecen para pasar la noche.
Besos y abrazos antes de decir "Buenas noches"

Cuando tus hijos se despiertan por la mañana:

Asegúrese de que estén despiertos al menos cuarenta y cinco minutos antes de que llegue el autobús o está listo para ir a la escuela.
Toma un desayuno saludable si está comiendo en casa (cereales integrales, huevos, jugos, frutas, tostadas, leche)
Completa su rutina de la mañana (cepillarse los dientes, peinarse, vestirse)
Tenga una conversación positiva sobre lo divertido que será aprender y estar con sus maestros y amigos en la escuela.
Estar en la parada del autobús diez minutos antes de la llegada del autobús, o llevarlo a la escuela para el desayuno temprano a las 8:00 o el horario de llegada a las 8:25.
Besos y abrazos antes de decir "¡Que tengas un buen día!"

Esperamos que estas "resoluciones" o algunas de ellas se conviertan en parte de la rutina diaria de su familia. Incluso la incorporación de algunos de estas resoluciones es un gran comienzo para un año nuevo maravilloso lleno de promesas y esperanzas.

¡Feliz año nuevo!

Sinceramente,

Dr. Cracco Dr. Pisani
Director Asistente Director

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