Second proposed Grand Island school budget discussed at public hearing

By Alice Gerard

Senior Contributing Writer

At the June 8 public hearing on the second proposed school budget, held at Grand Island High School, the issues raised from the 17 community members who spoke included tax increases, the reserve fund, the opportunity for outside groups to use school facilities, messaging on social media, electric school buses, additional budget cuts in the event of a contingent budget, communication issues, the distance that buses travel to take children to special education programs, and financial pressures on the community.

“The purpose of this meeting tonight is to listen to concerns, whether you are not in favor of the budget or you are in favor of it,” said Dr. Brian Graham, Grand Island Central School District superintendent. “The budget on the ballot on June 16 is a careful, restrained, community-shaped plan that protects many of the things we hold dear on Grand Island.”

The second vote will be on a revised budget that calls for a 1.5% tax levy hike, down from the previously proposed 2.68% increase. The second budget proposed is in the amount of $81,185,805, with the proposed tax levy being $42.474,212. In the second budget proposal, the administrative component is $6,876,808, the program component is $59,209,100, and the capital component is $40,209,100.

According to Graham, “If this budget fails on June 16, this board will come back together to direct the administration on what would be cut in a contingency budget.”

Some cuts would be mandatory, Graham explained. According to the second budget vote edition of The Bridge, any free use of school facilities by non-school organizations, such as PTAs, the Piranhas club, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and community education, would not be permitted. Community organizations would have to pay the full cost of the use of any school facilities.

“We charge a little bit, but we don’t charge the full cost,” said Doug Whelan, interim assistant superintendent for school business and finance, in an interview prior to the hearing. “When a person has to come here to open a building for weekend things, that’s time and a half. We don’t charge the full cost of that.

“We would have changes in our buildings and grounds maintenance equipment. We would have to eliminate overtime, except for snow removal. We would eliminate after-school busing, architectural fees, mentoring and professional development, etc.

“I think it’s important for everyone in the community to know that, if this budget goes down, we can’t buy new buses. On this proposition two, we are asking for a wheelchair bus. We take care of all children, to the best of our ability, and sometimes we have to front costs at the front end to get aid back on the back end. But, if this goes down, we can’t buy that wheelchair bus. We can’t follow our bus replacement if this goes down.”

Nicole Vacanti said, “It was documented in the Bridge that Grand Island, along with West Seneca, pays for two children to be bused to (the Fairport BOCES, in Monroe County). What is the cost of that and why (is it happening)?”

“One of the expenses that the school district has to cover is transportation for students off the Island,” Graham said. “For students attending parochial or private schools, the radius covered is 15 miles.

“I can’t talk about specific students, but there is a child who lives on Grand Island who needs specific services that are provided by the Monroe BOCES. That child’s sibling, I believe, lives off Island. In West Seneca. So, we’ve combined forces to make sure we can provide to what is documented on their individualized education plan.”

According to Cheryl Cardone, assistant superintendent of special education and pupil personnel services, “The student whom you’re questioning is from a group home. I’ll tell you, if the student is in a group home, we do get reimbursed 110% for those particular students to offset the cost of the program, transportation, etc.”

“I know that people asked about the busing,” said Kristen Piurek, an Island resident who teaches art in the Sweet Home Central School District. “I hope that people realize, and I don’t know if it’s public knowledge, when there’s an IEP, when there are students with special needs, those are state mandates that have to happen. The district spends an extraordinary amount for special needs students, and I hope that people realize that.”

The cost of transportation to and from Fairport is $496 per day, Cardone said.

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Speakers asked about potential budget cuts and talked about why they chose to vote in the way that they did. They expressed a wide range of opinions about what should be in the budget and what should not be in the budget, as well as their views on the tax levy.

Dan Oliveri said, “There is some frustration in the levies, (and) with that high assessment last year. A lot of the older people, their pensions don’t increase. It’s kind of a bad time with the capital project, the splash pad, the community center, all this stuff. I know it’s tough. I think you’re doing a good job and you genuinely care. But guys like me – it’s not going to benefit me. It’s going to raise my taxes.”

“I would really like you to take a hard look at what is necessary vs. what you’re wishing for and wanting,” said Paula Sciuk. “I think that, most of the people, that’s where they’re coming from when they voted this budget down. I’m sure there are some areas there that you’re going to be able to cut.”

“The children have been held hostage one too many times in this district,” Aaron Luisos said. “This is yet another case of it. It is ridiculous. Make the necessary cuts. Don’t hurt the kids’ programs.”

Allison Dukat offered a different perspective about expenditures: “When people say, ‘I don’t have kids in the schools anymore,’ well, guess what? You live in a community. When they’re paving your road, I don’t say, ‘Oh, my gosh, my taxpayer dollars are going to pave your road. I don’t live on your road.’ No, we live in a community, people. Let’s all stand together and recognize the important place that our school district plays in our community.”

Jen Dorato said, “I want this budget to pass because I want our kids to get their programs, get the things they need. I think it would be a benefit to the community to proactively show the community what the contingency plan would actually mean, what actual programs would be cut.”

Jon Dalbo said, “I know a lot of people are talking about taxes, but I view this all as an investment, not just today, but in the future. If you have no children in the district, I totally respect many of your perspectives. Just know that you are paying it forward. This is an opportunity to invest in our schools and not take it out of them. I know these are tough times.”

Jim Mulcahy raised the issue of the reserve funds: “We have a 4% reserve, which is about $32.2 million. If we drop that reserve to $3.19 million, with the contingency, we’d have the same spending as with the higher cost budget. You’re at the state max with the 4%. That’s something to consider and people should understand. We have this reserve built in here. Have we ever used this reserve?”

“I am disclosing to people who ask me about the reserves and about the 4% balances and how that can be used,” Whelan said. “There is some good discussion that can happen in the future. I’ve asked the superintendent if we could do a finance board, a subcommittee. Let’s take this budget and break it down, and let’s have the public understand more about it.”

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Social media and communication issues were also addressed.

“It’s being reported on social media that programs such as art, DECA, modified sports, and intramural sports will be cut if this budget fails,” Mike Madigan said. “In one post, on May 29, it states that Brian Graham is the source of this claim that (they) will be cut. This claim has spread widely, without correction, from the district, scaring the hell out of many parents, grandparents and residents.”

“A few things were said that were disingenuous,” Rob Kopf said. “I can’t control what my neighbor writes on Facebook, if it’s right or not. It’s up to us, as citizens, to come to these meetings, to read the information that’s on the website, to follow the board’s objectives and meetings and such, every month.”

“There are people on Facebook spreading misinformation,” said Allison Dukat.

Liz Goss said, “I’ve heard people talk about fearmongering with the messaging. I want to point out that I recognize that you are putting that out there as urgency. I know, as a mother who has three kids in the district, one of whom is in DECA. That’s her main thing. I recognize that’s not fearmongering. It’s trying to have an urgency so people really understand the student impact. I think it’s easy for people to see numbers and not see students’ faces.”

Erin Pizur spoke specifically about communication from the school district: “I have come to you multiple times, wanting you to have more communication. Wanting you to put out more information in a more productive way.”

John Chin asked about an item that saw a significant cut in the revised budget: “The largest item I could see on the budget was $150,000 for utilities. I’m wondering, in general, how that’s going to be handled, given the increases we’ve been seeing with electric, gas, power, energy. Maybe we have a year-long contract, which means we’re insulated from all that.

“I’m wondering, just realistically, with this budget being voted. Do you take the money if it’s a bad winter or whatever the energy prices continue to rise? How is that handled and is that a realistic reduction in the budget, given the context where we are now?”

“When I came in December, I did a complete analysis of the past,” Whelan said. “To the best of my ability, I’m trying to predict the future. So, in utilities, last year, we spent approximately $910,000. My initial budget had $1.2 million. We’ve reduced it now. We’ve taken $150,000 out of that budget, and we’ve got just over a million dollars. So, it’s $1,000,040. It’s about a 14%, a 13.5% increase.

“I’m asked to shave off numbers and not affect the program because we don’t want to touch any of the programs for the kids. I’m doing the best I can to estimate these costs, given a very short history. A lot of these things in the budget is our best guess. How much do we have in health insurance? We budgeted $4 (per gallon) for diesel. It’s now $6 per gallon. There are things that are pretty close.”

Vacanti asked about whether the school district was buying electric school buses: “With (Gov. Kathy) Hochul’s mandate that buses are going to have to be electric by 2035, what is the point of spending all this money on buses we’re going to have to replace?

“I think it’s important and maybe you’ve heard me say this countless times,” Graham said. “We’re not in favor of Hochul’s mandate. By 2027, we were to purchase our first electric bus. In this new budget, there’s a new law that pushes that mandate out five more years. We’re fortunate that we do not have to buy an electric bus, at least until those five years are up.”

“I’ve been thinking about that with some of the budget issue,” Emily Dinsmore said. “A lot of what happens is that we get a state mandate. The school district has to figure out how to make that state mandate happen. We’ve all discussed that electric buses cause problems, especially in rural areas. I believe that, if we continue that pushback on the state level, hopefully, we will not have issues on Grand Island, although I think that Grand Island would be a slightly better community for electric busing in general just because we have defined boundaries.”

People also expressed their views of the school district.

“This is a wonderful district,” Dukat said. “We owe so much to the people who are sitting in this room for working hard, day in and day out, to provide our children in this district with a wonderful experience. Our children are going to grow up and become the people who are the leaders of the future.”

Dalbo said, “I’m here to offer my support for the school district. I really appreciate the hard work all of you have done. The experiences of my four children have been top notch. There are things that they’ve got to do that I couldn’t afford.”

“I know (teachers) are doing a lot in the trenches, as well. I know that education across the board is completely underfunded,” Goss said. “I know you spend tons of your own money and your own time to invest in our children, so, across the board, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. We appreciate everything you’re all doing.”

“I think the world of this district. I have two boys in this district, and I think they’re doing a great job and I would hate to see anything get cut, especially in art, music and tech. All of those are really important to me obviously,” Piurek said.

Cory Clare mentioned voter turnout in the May vote: “We have 2,600 people voting and 17,000 (eligible voters) who live here. I know it’s not just those 2,600 people who have kids. I’m for more communication, more transparency. I think you guys have been transparent. I think there could be more. I just don’t want anything to be affecting our kids.”

“I can say to everyone talking tonight, thank you for coming out,” said Trustee Roger Broeker. “I took away that the No. 1 thing seems to be about communication and the information that’s given out. Moving forward, we will work with everybody and try to prioritize (communication), because I know the way misinformation spreads and you want to make an informed decision. We will continue to work on that, and we will continue to look at new ways of getting information out to people in a timely manner so that everyone can make those decisions.”

Trustee Ashli Dreher said, “I just want to say that I hope when people are considering their vote that they’re thinking about how it impacts them. Maybe you don’t have kids in the district, but you care about your property values. You care about your future. I just really want you to think about how this would impact our students if… it would just kill me to come back to this table and have to look out here at all the educators and administrators who have worked so hard, and the kids who sit in the audience and have to decide what to cut. That would be a horrible way to end nine years of volunteerism on this board.”

Both ex officio student representatives to the Board of Education were invited to share their perspectives.

Charlotte Tower said, “We have sat in on these meetings and we understand the importance of these budget meetings. Now we are doing our duty to make sure we get that message to our peers who are able to vote. We are definitely going to be doing that. Any seniors who are 18 years old, go out and vote on the 16th.”

Sienna Sarkees added, “I think that’s really important. There are a few seniors who are 18, but the kids can’t represent themselves. They can’t go out and vote ‘Yes’ so their programs don’t get cut. I think it’s really important, as parents and as community members, I don’t think there’s anything like it doesn’t benefit you because it benefits everyone. Please come out and vote on Tuesday.”

Polls are open on June 16 at the high school, starting at 8 a.m. and closing at 9 p.m.