Webutuck superintendent addresses concerns regarding missed budget deadlines

WEBUTUCK — While neighboring districts have dedicated a large amount of time at recent Board of Education (BOE) meetings to the budget process this year, little has been made public about the upcoming budget proposal for the North East (Webutuck) Central School District.According to board members and the district’s superintendent, that doesn’t mean they haven’t been working on it. But other than assurances from Superintendent Steven Schoonmaker that the board will be adopting a budget on April 11, the rest of the budget’s timeline, its progress and exactly when it will be made public remain to be seen.During the public comments section of the March 14 Board of Education meeting, Schoonmaker dismissed complaints about the budget process, or lack thereof, pointing out that there have already been several Finance Committee meetings and that the administration is waiting for more concrete figures from the state before unveiling the draft budget proposal.“The reality is that this is unlike any year we’ve seen,” Schoonmaker said. “Typically staff and budget are relatively consistent from year to year, but with the loss of federal money and cuts to state aid, there are a number of serious decisions that will need to be made.”Schoonmaker explained that a number of factors are impeding Webutuck from having a firm grasp on exactly what revenue it will receive from the state and federal governments. “Rather than put something out and then have to say we were wrong,” Schoonmaker said, “we are going to wait on it.”Schoonmaker also said that there have been several discussions about some of the more drastic cuts that may be necessary given the dire financial situation many school districts are finding themselves in this year, which could include staff reductions. But, he repeated, the district will not be having those conversations in public until it is more clear exactly which measures need to be taken.Certainly, taxpayers say, compared to other local school districts, Webutuck has the appearance of lagging behind. In the Pine Plains Central School District, administrators have made nearly half a dozen presentations on different components of the budget, starting back in January. Both Pine Plains and the Millbrook school districts have already presented draft budget proposals, complete with projections on budget-to-budget increases and estimated tax levy increases. Those numbers can, and have, changed throughout the process and will until the budgets are adopted. But in Webutuck there has not been any public information as of the March 14 meeting about what the budget proposal will look like or whether there is a current draft in place. In follow-up interviews after that meeting, Schoonmaker acknowledged the impression was that the budget process was not on schedule, at least according to the 2011-12 Budget Development Calendar the board officially adopted.“One could say that we might be one week behind,” he said, “but I don’t see that. It’s a draft suggested schedule, and the only important date is April 11 [the date the Board of Education is scheduled to adopt the proposed budget before voter approval on May 17]. We’re going to adopt a budget on time, and we’re on pace to do that. I don’t see that as a problem.”“Obviously we are behind,” Board of Education President Dale Culver said in a separate interview, pointing out the schedule was adopted by the BOE to keep the budget process in line with state deadlines. He said the superintendent “knows what our process is, and the communication piece there is not working well.”Schoonmaker disagreed with the idea that there was a lack of communication between the administration and the board, and said that the administration, which includes himself and the district’s business administrator, among others, has been working with the board “much more collaboratively than might be the case in other places.“The board is much more involved and further along and earlier on in the process,” said Schoonmaker, in his first year at Webutuck. “That’s not either good or bad, that’s just the way it is. Actually, I do think there are positives, as it eliminates surprises later on. It gives them an opportunity to give input earlier on.”When asked what the current timeline would be for the budget process, the superintendent said that by the March 28 board meeting, “We will be well into discussions of a final budget. Then on April 4, whatever final modifications that might need to be made [will be].”As far as a public presentation on the budget, Schoonmaker said that it wasn’t explicitly stated on the board’s development calendar, but that he had given a PowerPoint presentation on the budget at every other school district he has been at, and he expected it to be the same at Webutuck. However, the date of March 7 was specified for the superintendent to present the preliminary budget to the school board.“There will certainly be public discussion,” he said, “prior to adoption in April and also for the budget hearing, which is required in May.”Culver said that the board has an obligation to the community and the students in the district to get a budget in on time, regardless of the lack of financial information available from the state. “We’ve got to get a solid document produced in the next seven to 14 days,” he said on March 17. “Last year at this point we were much farther along. And with new administration, there are many things that slow down the process, but we’ve got to get a budget together soon.”“We will adopt a budget on time,” Schoonmaker reiterated. “I don’t see that as in any way being a problem. And I think it’s going to be reasonable in terms of impact on taxpayers and any programs that we provide.”