2 school budgets fail again

The three north country school budgets that were defeated in May were back before the voters Tuesday, with mixed results.

Norwood-Norfolk Central School District voters rejected, 481-397, a revised budget that trimmed about $25,000 from the original 2008-09 budget proposal that was defeated last month by 10 votes, 278-268. In Potsdam, a budget that was cut by slightly more than $100,000 went down by nine votes, 583-574.

Voters in the Lyme Central School District approved a scaled-down 2008-09 spending plan, 229-148. The revised budget of about $6.1 million had been trimmed by about $30,000.

Norwood-Norfolk's $19,019,421 spending plan was a proposed budget increase of $1,716,697, or 9.92 percent, calling for a 4.91 percent tax levy increase. The 2007-08 school budget was $17,302,724.

"The outcome was decisive," Superintendent Elizabeth A. Kirnie said. "It wasn't the close call like the last vote. We have to take seriously the message we are getting from the community."

Now that more voters turned down the proposal, the school board will adopt a contingency budget and cut $287,201, bringing the total down to $18,732,220. The superintendent said all areas of the budget will be considered in trimming costs to meet the contingency level.

Mrs. Kirnie declined to discuss possible reasons for the revised budget's defeat. The school board will have to adopt a contingency budget by July 1.

The board reached the revised spending plan by cutting a technology teacher to half time and was to assign her technology coordinator duties that were to offset some Board of Cooperative Educational Services expenses. The district also cut funding for athletic uniforms, some equipment and salary for administrators, while finding some gains in unemployment benefits.

The district, in the revised budget proposal, restored half of a music teacher position cut from the original budget plan.

POTSDAM FAILS AGAIN

Voters in the Potsdam Central School District rejected a revised budget that trimmed about $101,000 from the original 2008-09 budget proposal, which was defeated last month by 14 votes, 300-286.

Potsdam's revised $26,302,996 spending plan was a proposed budget increase of $2,136,936, or 8.84 percent, calling for a 4.1 percent tax levy increase. The 2007-08 school budget was $24,166,060.

"It was a strong turnout of voters, but it was very disappointing for the vote to go down," Superintendent Patrick H. Brady said.

With voters once again turning down the proposal, the board will adopt a contingency budget, which could be up to about $26.44 million. The revised budget proposal was under the cap the state allows for a contingency budget.

Mr. Brady said "tough economic times" and recent property revaluations in the town of Potsdam could have contributed to the budget's defeat.

The $101,734 in cuts made in the revised spending plan included $14,572 in salaries and benefits for the athletic director and for the high school and elementary principals. Positions for a part-time computer technician and a full-time custodial worker proposed for the high school were slashed, and the middle school home and careers teaching salary and benefits were reduced by a quarter by cutting that program to three-quarters of a credit. An elementary teacher's retirement saved $20,000.

LYME BUDGET BREEZES

In the Lyme Central School District, voters approved the revised budget by 81 votes. The budget was $6.39 million, up 4.3 percent from this year. The tax levy, or amount to be raised by property taxes, will be $3.1 million, up 2 percent or $60,710 from this year.

"I believe the extended hours really helped," said Superintendent Donnalee K. Dodson.

The school more than doubled the polling hours to ensure working residents had a chance to vote. Polls were open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, and 73 more people cast votes than did the first time.

"They came in steady all day," she said.

The school's initial proposal of a 4.8 percent increase, or $6.42 million, was defeated in May, 157-151.

Since the initial budget was turned down by just six votes, the school slashed $30,000 from its instructional budget by decreasing its full-time equivalent home and careers teacher to a just under half-time position.

"Everything we could think of, we did it properly," Mrs. Dodson said. "We've cut as much as we possibly could."