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Schools

Hampton Bays School Budget Review Begins

The Hampton Bays School board's budget may increase by 2% to 3% when presented to voters in May.

Hampton Bays school district began readying taxpayers at Tuesday night's school board meeting for a slight increase to the 2011-2012 proposed school budget over the current one.

An anticipated increase of around two or three percent for the district’s budget, which will be voted on in May, is the result of a probable reduction in New York State funding and anticipated increased enrollment over the next five years, explained school district administrator Larry Luce.

“Two to three percent feels about right,” Luce said after presenting some initial factors impacting how the future proposed budget will be shaped.

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Current district enrollment stands at 1956, according to figures presented to the school board. Anticipated enrollment shows increases for the next five years to reach 2,052.

Luce explained that the numbers are determined by examining census figures, historical enrollment patterns, kindergarten registration for next year and other factors.

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Possible impact on real estate taxes per assessed value cannot be calculated until an actual proposed preliminary budget is presented to the public, said Luce.

The potential school budget increase discussed at the meeting is contingent upon New York State’s passage of its own annual budget, explained school district superintendent Lars Clemensen.

The New York State budget was presented to the legislature on Feb. 1. The state budget is supposed to be accepted by lawmakers by April 1. Only then will school districts receive notification of the impact of funding, Clemensen said.

Taking a longer look in formulating this year’s proposed budget is especially necessary because of proposed percentage caps on future increases to budget line items as proposed in the New York State budget, Luce said. If passed, future budgets will use the 2011-12 numbers as the starting point.

To wrangle through assessing priorities to formulate a proposed budget, the school district formed a Budget Advisory Committee made up of community groups and residents. The committee met in December 2010 and has three future meetings scheduled, Feb. 15, Mar. 3 and 22. Feedback indicates the primary concerns are holding taxes at existing levels, keeping staffing down without layoffs and “sharing economic hardships,” Luce said.

Another priority is keeping education level high and maintaining the buildings and grounds, Luce said.

Separately, board member Richard Joslin reported that the school board’s Curriculum Committee placed priorities on maintaining funding for the Alternative High School, implementing new special education streamlining procedures requirements and keeping the Life Skills Academy.

Budget talks will continue and Luce said and a Southampton town-wide meeting is scheduled for Feb. 17 in Hampton Bays to discuss how the new town tax assessments will impact school budgets.

In other school board news, January Student of the Month awards were presented to Brianna Quiros (Elementary School), Sara Schabe (Middle School) and James Tran (High School).

Also during the meeting, each school principal presented an overview of school programs, community collaborations and curriculum accomplishments realized so far.

A particular proud point for Clemensen was announcing the amount of money student's raised for charity through a variety of events events.

“Our students raised $20,000 through community service,” he said. “These initiatives are grass root supported and aren’t funded by the school district. This shows the true character of Baymen. It’s a positive thing.”

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