The universal pre-kindergarten lottery drawing dominated the February 9 Cal-Mum School Board meeting. In its second year, the UPK program includes a total of 30 four-year old students split into a morning and afternoon session.
Parents register their children for pre-k with the understanding that the first 30 students drawn by a lottery system will be included in the upcoming fall classes; any additional students are placed on a waiting list. The district receives approximately $64,000 in funding annually for the pre-k program. Additional sections of pre-k would be at the district’s expense.
All registered pre-k students last year were placed in the 2009-2010 program. This year, however, a total of 46 students registered, leaving about 16 on the waiting list. Census data indicates that the number of eligible four-year olds for pre-k could increase to approximately 60 students in the next couple of years. Some residents attending the board meeting expressed their opposition to the current cap of 30 students, saying it isn’t fair to deny the children of taxpaying parents in a public school system.
They suggested that the board consider adding an additional pre-k class to accommodate the other registered children. One resident, the grandparent of a pre-k student in this year’s program, said she was initially opposed to the district starting the program but since has volunteered in the classroom and witnessed the value of it. She wanted to verbalize her support of pre-k and encourage the board to consider adding another class.
Board President Jay Jones said the board will be reviewing all of the district’s programs in regards to the budget preparation process, adding that it is important to consider expanding programs based on their success.
Genesee Valley Partnership board member and former CMCS board of education member John McCreedy attended to inform the board about the variety of services and programs available. GVP, formerly called Genesee Valley BOCES, includes 22 component school districts from Genesee, Livingston, Wyoming and Steuben Counties. It provides instructional and support services to the component districts. McCreedy represents Cal-Mum and Avon schools. He told the board that GVP understands the budget difficulties facing districts this year and they are open to providing shared services to interested schools.
High School Principal Robert Molisani presented the results of the January Regents exams. Overall, 91 percent of the students passed the tests they attempted; 48 percent achieved mastery level of 85 percent or better. Molisani gave individual exam results which indicated an increase in passing rates and mastery levels over last year, on most exams. The results of a couple of exams were down from last year. Molisani was very pleased with the first semester results which he reminded the board represents only half of the students. The other half will take the June Regents exams.
Superintendent of Schools David Dinolfo presented the somber budget scenario. He reviewed NYS Gov. David Paterson’s proposed executive budget that includes over $15 million in cuts to schools throughout the Genesee Valley Partnership region. Reducing positions through attrition has allowed the district to control spending over the past few years while aligning the number of staff with enrollment size. With the budget constraints handed down from Albany, Dinolfo said the board will focus on freezing the budget for the next couple of years at its current level of $16.3 million. Using the current allocations provided in the governor’s budget, Cal-Mum’s Foundation Aid, the district’s largest source of state aid, will be decreased about $850 thousand in addition to other state aid reductions.
“We have a huge gap to work on and we may end up having to make some difficult choices that will challenge us to get through these next few years,” the superintendent explained.
Preliminary budget plans have been made to contain spending including elimination of some faculty positions being vacated by employee retirements, reduced utility costs as a result of new equipment purchased through the EXCEL capital project and the use of fund balance to offset the extent of tax increases. On the expenditure side, employee costs such as health insurance and retirement contributions continue to account for a large portion of the budget increases.
Jones said they will begin reviewing this, the first budget draft, and over the next several weeks will make adjustments to it until a final budget is adopted for the annual state-wide budget vote on May 18, 2010.