The Fairport Central School District Board of Education voted to adopt the 2020-21 school budget at the Special Meeting of the Board of Education, May 11.
The Board of Education, in conjunction with District administration, has re-examined the 2020-21 school budget because of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic pause. The New York State Governor has spoken about school aid decreasing as much as 20%, which will inevitably affect the operations of the District. As the District prepares for a loss of revenues, efficiencies will be realized as outlined in the proposed 2020-21 school budget.
The proposed budget includes staffing reductions that total the equivalent of 15.5 full positions, including elementary and secondary teaching staff, clerical and administrative. Of this total, 12.5 positions will be through attrition (retirements the District will not fill).
“The current financial environment requires that we are increasingly conscientious of the economy, while continuing to provide our students with high-level educational opportunities,” said Superintendent of Schools Brett Provenzano. “Our plan to use District reserves and realize natural efficiencies through attrition will help mitigate the reduction of staff and preserve programming. Undoubtedly, however, there will be staffing changes and reductions. These losses are disheartening to our organization; our staff is integral to our programming and connect with students in so many different ways.”
Budget highlights include:
- The $135,165,721 total budget is a 2.24% increase over the prior year’s budget
- The budget is in compliance with the Property Tax Cap
- The tax tevy increase is 2.13%
- The estimated tax rate is a projected $23.12, a 2.13% increase
- The proposed budget includes similar opportunities for students that it has in the past
- Class sizes will be adjusted slightly in the proposed budget; however remain comparable to Monroe County schools and credible for positive interactions and learning to occur
On the Ballot:
Fairport Central School District
- Proposed 2020-21 school budget
- Proposition #1 authorizing FCSD to expend from the Capital Technology Reserve Fund an amount not to exceed $309,000 for the purchase of information technology equipment and supplies
- Three Board of Education members
Fairport Public Library
- Proposed 2020-21 Public Library budget
- One Public Library trustee
Residents will vote on this budget Tuesday, June 9 via absentee ballot. All District households will receive two ballots each. Ballots for additional household members who are qualified voters can be requested by contacting the Deputy District Clerk at tbuffa@fairport.org or by calling (585) 421-2010. All absentee ballots must be received by 5 p.m. on June 9, 2020.
The District’s Virtual Public Hearing on the budget is Tuesday, May 26 at 6 p.m. Community members may access and engage in the hearing via fairport.org website, in which the meeting will be streamed live.
For more information about the 2020-21 school budget, including budget presentations, visit www.fairport.org/budget.