The proposed 2021-2022 budget that was presented at last Monday’s Valley Central School District (VCSD) Board of Education meeting touted a continuation of solid programs, dependable transportation and determination to repair school grounds. The presentation outlined the curriculum and instruction, special education, BOCES, athletic, operations and maintenance, transportation, fund balance and revenues for next year’s proposed budget.

Brad Conklin, school business official for the district, noted that the district aims for its curriculum to be among the best in the county.

“We aspire to be ranked in the top five school districts in Orange County on all key educational measures, including social emotional learning and racial equity,” he said.

The district has several goals for the curriculum and instruction portion of next year’s budget. Valley Central hopes to meet the needs of the whole student: academically, socially and emotionally. The district aims to create programs and opportunities to fill gaps created by COVID-19. They also plan to provide relevant, differentiated and inspiring professional development to support innovative teaching. It is their hope that they nurture a community of learners with a growth mindset.

Some of the curriculum projects planned for the upcoming budget include Summer School 2021, programs to lessen the gap due to COVID-19 as well as a racial and social equity initiative. The district is also hoping to enhance its K-12 science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics program. Valley Central plans to rewrite the science curriculum for several of its high school courses. They hope to support the 5E Instructional Model (engage, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate) within their science classrooms. In the upcoming year, Valley Central plans to begin implementing digital literacy standards set forth by the state. They also hope to include electives at the middle school to decrease study halls and to continue to increase/revise high school electives utilizing existing staff to increase opportunities for students.

In the proposed budget for the 2021-2022 school year, instructional salaries are down slightly from this year’s adopted budget. $28,287,528 is proposed for next year while $28,318,764 was allocated in this year’s adopted budget. The proposed budget for non-instructional salaries has also decreased from this year. $2,253,667 was allocated this year and $2,179,755 is proposed to be allocated next year. Next year’s proposed budget saw slight increases in the contractual and supplies line within the instructional budget. As of right now the total general fund in the instructional budget is $31,433,852, which is down approximately $100,000 from this year’s adopted budget.

The total general fund for next year’s proposed special education budget is $11,553,052, which is an increase of more than $500,000 from the current year. $8,603,239 is proposed for the instructional salaries, which is up approximately $300,000 from this year. The non-instructional salaries line is proposed to be $2,492,893, an increase of roughly $230,000 from this year’s adopted budget. The contractual line is expected to stay the same while the supplies line will improve by about $500.

Each year the district gives a lot of money to BOCES, as they provide them with many services. This includes budget vote, personnel as well as health and safety services. Valley Central also uses BOCES’ library services and relies on them for data processing.

To accommodate these services in addition to many others, more money is proposed in the BOCES budget for next year. $7,487,596 is budgeted for next year, an increase of approximately $200,000 from this year.

The district plans to keep the fifteen sports they currently offer. This includes baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track, unified basketball, volleyball and wrestling. After several recommendations from parents, the district hopes to add a co-ed gymnastics program.

“If we are able to get your approval and do that, I do believe we have a potentially pretty solid coach that would be interested in working with the girls,” Conklin said.

There is currently $813,808 in the total general fund for athletics, down roughly $25,000 from this year. Next year’s proposed budget sees a decrease of approximately $30,000. On the contrary, the funding for non-instructional salaries, the contractual budget and supplies are all expected to increase.

The proposed total general fund budget for operations and maintenance in 2021-2022 is $5,148,549, which is an increase of approximately $30,000 from this year. The salaries and contractual/supplies budgets are both slated to receive small increases while the funding for equipment is expected to stay the same.

The increased funding for operations and maintenance would be greatly appreciated, as the district has several improvements coming soon. Valley Central plans to repair fences and roofs district-wide. The district also plans to repair the exterior steps at Montgomery, Walden and Berea Elementary Schools in addition to Valley Central Middle School and Valley Central High School. Chimney repairs will be made to Berea and the bleacher will be repaired at East Coldenham Elementary School.

The transportation budget for next year is expected to increase substantially. The proposed total general fund is $7,454,572, as opposed to last year’s total of $6,472,939. The district’s basic transportation contract is expected to increase from $2,800,000 to $3,336,000. Funding for special education and non-public education transportation is currently up from last year in the proposed budget.

The proposed transportation budget increases are welcomed, as the district supports a large fleet that drives to many different schools. Their current fleet consists of 36 large buses, 30 small buses, 6 wheelchair busses and three vans. In addition to seven in-district schools, Valley Central also provides transportation to out of district schools such as Orange-Ulster BOCES as well as private schools such as Chapel Field Christian Schools and The Storm King School. Approximately 300 individual routes operate each day.

Though the district had not yet calculated its appropriated fund balance for 2021-2022, they did share their reserves. They currently have $8,006,548 in reserve funding, which includes a capital reserve of $356,003. This fund is used to pay the cost of facility improvements.

The budget development process is quickly moving toward the finish line. At the next board of education meeting, John Xanthis, VCSD superintendent of schools, will present his proposed budget for the upcoming school year at the board of education meeting on Monday, March 22. The board will adopt the 2021-2022 budget at the meeting on April 19. The process will wrap up with a budget hearing on May 10 and the budget vote on May 18.