Shen leader urges budget discipline as cuts loom

Faced with cuts in state aid this year and the next, school superintendent says district must prepare for smarter spending

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer Click byline for more stories by writer. Last updated: 9:31 a.m., Wednesday, November 19, 2008

CLIFTON PARK -- The leader of the region's largest suburban school district urged unity and discipline Tuesday night as officials move to confront millions in proposed mid-year cuts in state aid. Even as an impasse between Gov. David A. Paterson and legislative leaders earlier in the day cast doubt on if, or at least how soon, Paterson's proposed cuts will come, Superintendent L. Oliver Robinson told a crowd of students, faculty and administrators that Shenendehowa Central Schools cannot simply breathe a sigh of relief. With some 9,800 students, Shen is far and away the largest suburban district in the Capital Region and also facing the largest potential cut. Shen would lose $3.7 million in promised state aid under the governor's proposed cuts, which were unveiled last week and which sent alarms through public school systems across the state, where the money was included in budgets finalized months ago. The cuts would reduce Shen's state aid to $41.5 million for the 2008-2009 school year, still a .78 percent increase over last year. But the worst may be yet to come, Robinson said. As a result, the district needs to prepare as if the cuts are coming, not just this year but the next. "If they're proposing 10 percent mid-year, I'd hate to see what the following year would like," Robinson said. At the special meeting of the school board called specifically to discuss the state's fiscal crisis and it's potential affect on Shen, Robinson urged the capacity crowd in the Gowana Middle School library to avoid the temptation to raid the district's roughly $4.3 million in reserves. Doing that, he said, would be short-sighted and potentially counterproductive in coming years, when the district could be forced to raise taxes substantially and/or pursue deep program cuts if the reserves have been depleted. Instead, while stressing no decisions have been made, Robinson outlined a broad spectrum of potential savings including but not limited to: consolidating bus routes, spending and hiring freezes, negotiating concessions with unions, reducing field trips, drafting some people in administrative jobs back into classrooms, and possibly offering a targeted retirement incentive. "We're going to look at everything and everyone," Robinson said. Comparing the district's situation to that of the federal government prior to last month's controversial financial bailout package, Robinson spoke against knee-jerk reactions that may in the end create new unintended problems. Robinson said the district should avoid cutting programs wholesale because those programs, once whacked, seldom return and must also strive to preserve equity among schools as well as excellence. "This is not a slash-and-burn, let's-just-get-to-a-bottom-line conversation that we're having," he said. He also urged district staff and faculty to avoid the infighting and competition that often accompanies fears of a looming axe. "The thing that we can't afford is one group pointing fingers at another group," Robinson said. "That's when we end up with political resolutions and not real, practical resolutions," Christine Koblensky, president of the Shenendehowa Teachers Association, said she was glad to hear Robinson talk of spreading the impact of any cuts across the district. "We're going to have to take some time to digest it," said Koblensky, whose union represents some 800 teachers and other professionals around the district. She described a mood of "angst" among some members of the union following the governor's announcement. For now, she said, the union will await hard numbers. While Robinson stressed "this is not a school vs. state conversation," he also acknowledged the state's actions have shaken confidence in school districts frustrated that money they were promised might not be coming. "Right now there's no belief that the commitments that are being made are going to be followed through," he said. Jordan Carleo-Evangelist can be reached at 454-5445 or by e-mail at jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com.