The Budget: An Overview of Glen Cove School District's Spending Plan

The Glen Cove Board of Education adopted a $72,052,501 budget on April 11, concluding a month-long process of 2011-12 .

The budget – which is the district’s annual spending – calls for an increase of 2.4 percent. The tax levy, which is the amount of money that needs to be raised locally, is estimated to increase 3.3 percent.

– whose salary budget code has been reduced by $20,000 – has been preparing the community for a grim budget year: “I can say to you in all sincerity, in my 32 years of experience in dealing with budgets, I have never experienced what we are about to experience,” he said.

The switch from a nine-period to an eight-period school day in the high school and middle school is one of the biggest changes included in the current budget, as the removal of ninth period will lead to employee cuts and teacher layoffs, Middle School Principal Anael Alston said.

Alston said that the middle school day will still run from 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., and the proposed change would not affect any operations, including busing or lunch.

The current budget includes the reduction of 19.2 district-wide positions: 11.7 teachers, two custodians, three clerical positions and two monitors. 

Glen Cove resident and BOE candidate Barrie Dratch said that with the removal of ninth period and the layoff of teachers, it's important to make sure classes are still available for the kids.

"I think it was difficult for the board to reach an agreement in this hard economic time," said Dratch, who has two children enrolled in the district. "I'm glad that many classes weren't touched and sports weren't affected. They kept the best interest of the kids in very tough times."

The district's decision to remove Frost Valley and out of state field trips from the curriculum disappointed one Glen Cove parent: "My daughter loved Frost Valley," said resident Allison Gasparella. "The students grow up a bit. It's more than just getting away from mom and dad, so much so that it becomes more than an educational trip."

While the budget includes the district's Visual Arts Education Program, resident Maria Venuto collected 103 signatures on a petition to preserve the program.

Venuto presented the petition to Laria on in early April, requesting that no cuts in staff be made to the visual arts department: "If we truly see the arts as the crown jewel of our district, we need to preserve the valuable assets that we have developed in the Glen Cove School District," the letter stated. 

The Glen Cove School District has provided the following review of budget inclusions and exclusions for 2011-2012 school year.

• All current programs and services
• Current elementary class sizes
• Eight period middle school day
• Eight period high school day with elective offerings
• Music and art programs including third grade strings and two sixth grade band teachers.
• Visual arts education program
• On-line credit recovery in lieu of BOCES summer school
• Full sports in grades seven through 12
• Full day kindergarten program
• third grade swimming program at YMCA
• Clubs and co-curricular activities
• Core requirements of the state
• Pupil transportation limits of one and 1.5 miles and no rate increase for 2011-2012
• Academic plus program
• special education programs and services

• Reduction in work force of 19.2 district-wide positions
• Non emergency preventative maintenance capital projects
• nine period day at high school and middle school
• High school and middle school master schedule inefficiencies 
• Eliminate summer language program
• Consolidation of public information and public relation services (going green with district newsletter)
• Frost Valley and out of state trips
• PSAT test funding
• Consolidation of registrar and transportation departments
• Security shift inefficiencies and overtime reduction
• Downsize the number of clubs ($40,000)