Even tiny savings can help school district budgets

By Erikah Haavie
Poughkeepsie Journal

BEACON -- Their budgets total in the millions but many local school districts are looking at ways to shave a few dollars wherever they can.

This year, no item was too small.

In the Beacon district, it may mean not buying a few extra $50 textbooks. In Pine Plains schools, it may mean students may have to raise money for field trips.

Under Gov. George Pataki's proposed budget, schools could see $1.2 billion of cuts in aid from the state. State lawmakers are still negotiating the coming year's budget.

The Beacon district has looked at a number of new cost-cutting measures during its budget process. It is curtailing the number of field trips for students and limiting the number of conferences attended by staff.

Companies the district holds contracts with for supplies or services have been asked to provide a lower price or be canceled.

''We've been reasonably successful,'' Superintendent Vito DiCesare said.

When the district purchases textbooks for a class of 25 students, it will buy 28 instead of 30. It will also be more stringent in enforcing its policy when students lose books, DiCesare said.

Dover schools have scaled back their adoption of new math textbooks, meaning students will use books that are 10 years old. In a time of changing state standards, ''that's old,'' Superintendent Craig Onofry said.

There will also likely be less money for supplies and materials, meaning less for bulletin board displays, paper and hands-on manipulatives for teachers, Onofry said.

The Pine Plains district proposed cuts in a number of areas, anticipating a $700,000 decrease in aid from the state.

No cash for trips

It won't be buying buses this year. The board also has trimmed $60,000 that funded field trips, with the idea they could be financed instead through fund-raisers.

''It will be a lot of bake sales,'' school board President Richard Hermans said.

Wappingers district officials have been trying to hold the line on supplies and equipment. The budget for staff conference attendance has also been cut slightly, from approximately $19,000 this year to $15,000.

In the coming year, all personnel wishing to attend conferences will have to get approval from the superintendent, school officials said.

Arlington had ''very little to throw overboard,'' Superintendent Frank Pepe said, but it has been looking at ways to make what it has go further.

It has re-examined some of its funding for BOCES services, such as $30,000 that went to an employee-assistance program.

Since the counseling was not being used much, the district will still make the service available but will pay for it on a case-by-case basis, Pepe said.

As its neighbors did, the Pawling district had to look at ways to trim some of the smaller budget items, such as supplies. Superintendent Frank DeLuca said most of the ''big-ticket items'' such as employee retirement contributions and health insurance are out of the district's control.