Nanuet Schools: Salaries, Benefits, Enrollment

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With an estimated $4 million budget gap to close, the Nanuet School District started the process of looking at the school’s budget in October.

Superintendent Mark McNeill gave his recommendation to the school board at Tuesday night’s meeting. Read more about his recommendation—which includes cuts to staff, reserves and other budget reductions—in this Patch article.

“What I’m submitting to the board is some recommended expenditures. The board builds the budget and the budget workshops begin next week,” said McNeill.

For a look at the district's past trends on reserves, go to this Patch article and read more about the school budget's details in this Patch article.

Past Trends

In the 11-2012 school year, the district was able to stay under the tax cap by applying reserves, decreasing transportation expenses, decreased staff positions (by 10.3) and teachers and administrators took a zero percent increase in salary. This was also the year the board was under the “pressure from the Pfizer settlement. Pfizer, the taxes that they paid dropped by almost 50 percent so all other taxpayers had to pick up that 50 percent that Pfizer did not pay. That caused tax rates to go up.” McNeill added that the board worked to find ways to keep the tax levy “in the negative and a budget in the negative. That way, tax rates are not attributable to” the Pfizer agreement. 

In the 12-13 school year, the district applied reserves, eliminated teaching positions (2.5 total), two library clerk positions, decreased security costs and retired a bond. This current school year is the first year under the new levy tax cap.

For more on past trends of the Nanuet School District:

• Nanuet Schools 2013-14 Budget
• $4M Gap in Draft 2013-14 Budget

At the end of the meeting, Board Member Sarah Chauncey commended administrators for putting together thorough presentations.

“Knowing what it’s like for some (other districts) to get numbers, it’s amazing how you’ve kept historical data. You have such great ability to bring the numbers together and keep us informed.”

Salaries and Benefits

The salaries haven’t changed much over the last four years

“Under contract negotiations, I think everyone in the district has taken a hard freeze at least once,” said McNeill.

A chart from Tuesday night’s board meeting showed the aggregate salary amounts over four years:

Year Amount 08-09 $28.7M 09-10 $29.8M 10-11 $29.7M 11-12 $28.9M

“Salaries have been flat, but not the benefits,” said McNeill.

In regards to the salaries, McNeill said, “I also have to recognize the unions because it takes two sides to agree to a contract” and that cooperation between the board and the unions to create these contracts “produced the ability for this district to preserve programs and class sizes under circumstances such as Pfizer and the first year of the tax levy limit..”

Mandated benefits over four years: including employer’s payroll taxes (social security, medicare)

Year Amount 08-09 $10.4M 09-10 $10.4M 10-11 $11.7M 11-12 $12.8M

"What is not under the board’s control is the benefits … Salaries were held constant and benefits were problematic,” he said.

Enrollment

The next graph showed the number of teachers and students increasing steadily together until around 2007-08 when both numbers leveled off and stayed constant. However, around school year 2009-10, student population stayed constant, but teaching position numbers decreased.

“The peak year is 07-08. We had 2400 students and 220.5 teachers,” said McNeill. “We had rapid growth in the district … 600 units and 120 homes were built from 96-97 to 02-03. It drove the enrollment up in the following years.”

“Nanuet was the most dense hamlet in Clarkstown,” said McNeill, referencing a chart from the Citizens Advisory Board for Housing (CABH) in the Town of Clarkstown.

Clarkstown Housing Stock—Percentage of condo and rental units

Hamlet Percentage Nanuet 50.9% Valley Cottage 16.7% New City 12.9% Congers 7.5% Bardonia 5% Spring Valley 4.9% Central and West Nyack less than 2%

These stats were prepared by the Clarkstown Planning Department and presented in the CABH’s 2002 report.

When there were discussions on the future of the St. Agatha property, currently the Nanuet Outdoor Education Center, the district was concerned about the possibility of more rental units being built on the land.

“We talked about, should the board and the community intervene in the sale of the St. Agatha property … should it be put to a vote,” said McNeill. “What was proposed was the building of 60-65 homes.” He added that they did some math and estimated those 60-65 homes could bring in 118 students.

In 2005, the district discussed the proposed use of the St. Agatha land, which included:

• practice fields for students
• curriculum related environmental studies
• possible future expansion of school district facilities if warranted
• recreational and cultural activities for Nanuet school district residents

For a full look at how the district currently uses the land, go to this Patch Article.

 

 

Related Patch Articles:

March

February

• $4M Gap In Draft 2013-14 Nanuet School Budget
• McNeill Requests Tabling of Grade Reconfiguration

October 

• Future Nanuet School Budget: "Going to be Survival"
• Nanuet School Budget: Possible Depletion of Reserves
• Superintendent McNeill Explains Proposed Changes
• Nanuet School Budget: Breaking Down the Numbers
• Nanuet Schools 2013-14 Budget: $3.5M Budget Gap
• Nanuet School Board: Federal Call to Action