Riverhead school district’s new finance official begins 2022-2023 budget presentations

Acting Superintendent for Finance and Operations Faith Caglianone gave the first of three budget proposal presentations at Tuesday night’s school board meeting, discussing the tax levy cap and expected expenditures for general support and debt service in the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

The 2022-23 tax levy is capped by the state at an increase of 2.27% over the current year’s levy, limiting the amount the district can raise in property taxes to $106,916,682.

The district has had the same tax levy of $104,541,394 since the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The 2020-2021 budget failed, effectively freezing the tax levy and the district proposed no tax levy increase for the current fiscal year, thanks to a nearly $14 million boost in state aid delivered by the state legislature.

Superintendent Augustine Tornatore and Caglianone have described the budget they are developing as fiscally conservative. The district is “very committed” to staying below the tax levy limit, Caglianone said Tuesday night.

The district’s goal will be assisted by an expected an 18% increase in state aid — $8.4 million over the current year — as proposed in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget. The actual state aid number won’t be known until the state budget is finalized and adopted by the state legislature.

The district is proposing an increase in general support expenditures of just under $500,000 — a 12.1% increase over the current year, Caglianone said. General support includes expenditures for the board of education, district clerk, central administration, auditing and legal expenses, insurance and BOCES administration.

The largest increase in the general support items was a more than $400,000 — 17.1% — jump in expenditures in the central administration, auditing and legal budget category. Caglianone said the expenditures would cover the startup costs of upgrading the district’s financial software, implementing a new human resources software system, adding an additional clerical staff in the personnel and business offices.

Insurance and assessment costs are projected to increase nearly 8%. BOCES administration costs the district is required to pay will go up just under 2%.

Debt service expenditures will decrease 3.34%, mostly due to the final payment of a five-year bond for buses and turf field debts ending this school year. Debt service for construction bonds will also decline slightly. In addition, Caglianone said the district is currently in negotiations to refund 2014-15 bonds, which has the potential to save the district more money than estimated in the budget.

Budget highlights outlined by Caglianone include:

• a nine-period day in the high school and middle school and offering 32 new electives;
• more choices in fine arts;
• increase in direct support for elementary students, specifically in reading;
• enhance program opportunities for alternative high school;
• continue staff training in restorative practices;
• continue enhancement of social emotional learning progrmas;
• address technology needs for updated infrastructure and increased security, evaluate software and systems used throughout the district to create consistency and efficiency;
• continue to address classroom technology and student devices
• establish a security capital project to help ensure the security and safety of students staff and facilities, with integrated video, door access and alarm management.

Caglianone said the district hopes to receive additional funding for the security capital project from the state.

Caglianone will deliver two more budget presentations at the school board’s next regularly scheduled meetings.

On March 8, the presentation will cover transportation, facilities, regular day school and benefits. On March 22, the presentation will cover special education and pupil personnel services expenditures, revenue and other instructional items.

The board of education will vote on the budget plan in April, followed by a public hearing and a district-wide vote in May.