Updated Babylon Schools Budget Narrows Gap

The Babylon School District presented a new draft budget to the public on Monday evening showed a lowered budget from the original draft after increased state aid was recently factored in.

The April 8 presentation, given by deputy superintendent Dr. Peter Daly, called for a $47,677,812 budget for 2013-2014, up roughly 3.06 percent from the current year's operating budget. The new amount, however, was over $1 million lower than a proposed budget presented nearly a month ago on March 11.

The tax levy limit, however, remained the same for the newly drafted budget at 3.11 percent, or $199.73 per $100 of assessed value on properties. The district said a property valued at $4,300 would pay an estimated $8,588 in taxes, or about $21.56 a month than during the 2012-2013 school year.

"I think most of the increases on Long Island will be in the low to mid 3’s," said Dr. Daly. "It’s a huge increase in teacher retirement system [causing the increases]."

The school district received some good news recently when the New York State Assembly released their state budget, which included a huge jump in aid for Babylon Schools to the tune of $429,908, or 6.65 percent more than this year. The additional aid, however, is barely enough to cover half of the increases in the state's teacher retirement system, which amount to over $781,000 for the district.

Dr. Daly noted to a packed house that the school receives only about 15 percent of its yearly revenue through state aid, amounting to $7.438 million. Property taxes still amount to 77 percent of the district's revenue.

Dr. Daly noted the retirement of some teachers and officials will help the district save some money, but the board would need to explore more potential staff reductions.

Board of Education member Roger Katz stated his opposition during the meeting to using $2.5 million from the school's fund balance, a reserve the school uses to close remaining gaps in budgets or during emergencies.

"It's going to come back to haunt us in the future if we keep using it," Katz said. Board president Dominic Bencivenga agreed and said the board would look into other ways to avoid tapping those funds.

"Nothing in tonight's presentation is final until the Board of Education adopts it," Dr. Daly reminded parents and students in the crowd.

The board will adopt a budget on April 22 following a final presentation. A public hearing will be held on May 13 at Babylon High School before the district votes on the budget on May 21.