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Putnam Valley Board of Education Restores Funds to Athletics for 2008-9
Action comes amid protests to cutting athletics budget below current level
by Margaret Sternberg
During the April 9, 2008 meeting of the Putnam Valley Board of Education, among all of the recommendations that the Budget Committee submitted to the School Board, none generated more protest and concern than the possible reduction of the Athletic Department's budget by $48,876 for the 2008-9 school year.
The $48,876 number had been based upon reducing the numbers of coaches and assistant coaches which, in turn, would be based upon team size.
Jeri Cohen, a Math teacher in the high school and coach of a number of girls' sports teams in the district, said that she was concerned that the financial cut was ambiguous, lacking a specific number of positions to be cut or for which teams, also criticizing how the number could have been deduced without that type of data on which to base it.
Committee member Deborah Considine said the cut would have a "huge impact" on the district, noting that colleges become aware of schools through sports coverage and that cuts to the nascent Athletics Department and teams would have an impact at the college level in terms of the district's recognition.
Community member Ed Wallach, who has coached for 31years at Lakeland and has five grandchildren currently attending school in the Putnam Valley district, criticized the district for its "no cut" policy, something that the Board suggested might be revisited. Wallach said that the policy existed in name only, noting that although children may be on a team, some are effectively being "cut" because they get no time to play or practice, adding "If you're going to run a 'no cut' policy, provide the fields, provide the coaches, provide the uniforms…" Wallach also criticized the decrease in coaching staff for its impact on students' safety.
Trustee Frank Reale suggested changing the "no cut" policy to a cut policy depending upon the sport, a suggestion that was echoed by Board President Tina Mackay.
Following some discussion, it was decided that the Athletics Department should and would be the focus of review in an effort to formulate a set of guidelines, including the numbers of coaches and assistant coaches needed per student in a sport. The Board also decided to return $31,870 of the $48,876 that had prospectively been removed, resulting in the Athletic Department funding for 2008-9 being at the same level as for 2007-8, but denying any increase in funding for the department for the forthcoming year..
Other Budget Committee recommendations that were approved by the School Board with little comment were eliminating the position of equipment manager, saving $12,608; increasing by $55,000 the amount allotted to heating and diesel fuels, and $17,181 saved as a result of the retirement of the Director of Special Education and the hiring of his replacement. Two 1.0 full-time positions were eliminated through attrition, and no replacements were made. The Board said the positions were able to be covered by strategic reassignment of others to fill the openings. Approximately $203,000 in salaries and $55,215 in benefits was saved through the elimination of the positions.
The overview summary noted that the new budget for 2008-9 was $42,658,498, which was a budget to budget increase (2007- 8 to 2008-9) of 4.18 percent, assuming all Budget Committee recommendations involving concrete numbers were adopted. Because of the change in the recommendation regarding reduction of coaches, the numbers were expected to be revised.
In addition, Assistant Superintendent of Finance Paul Lee announced that the State had hours before advised him that the district would receive about $874,000 in state aid when the district's expectation had been a $200,000 loss of state aid, an event also necessitating a revision of figures because the monies will be used to reduce the tax levy.
Among other recommendations made by the committee was the possible elimination of a 1.0 teaching position in the Elementary School for Grade 2 - a move that would result in class sizes rising from 18 to 21 students and that the administration and board almost dismissed out of hand. Three reasons were cited: Putnam Valley students starting at a disadvantage due to the lack of a fulltime kindergarten, the district's consequent need to offer an intensive summer program with Title l funds in order to help the students catch up to their peers, and research proving that smaller class sizes in the early development years decreases the need for remedial services in middle school years.
The committee also recommended the replacement of a full-time Language Other Than English ("LOTE") teacher at the high school with a .6 equivalent. The district declined to follow this recommendation and is currently examining the structure at the middle school to sustain French as well as BOCES shared services for other language options. Reasons cited were reducing the LOTE position to .6 would result in the need to combine different levels of French and Spanish and the difficulty in finding and maintaining part-time teachers in LOTE as well as other subject areas.
In the area of transportation, the committee recommended not driving down cul-de-sacs, netting a potential $3,276 annual savings, an examination of the usage of buses and vans for late runs and team trips, and examining maximizing shared transportation services with neighboring school districts. The Director of Buildings and Grounds will examine these issues and report to the Board of Education.
The next meeting of the Putnam Valley Board of Education will be Thursday, April 17, at 7pm during which the full budget with the tax increase is expected to be presented and adopted.
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