Schools

Brighton Area Schools' Board of Education to Vote on Upcoming Year's Budget

The 2011-2012 fiscal year starts July 1.

Brighton Area Schools' Board of Education will vote Monday on the district's proposed budget for the upcoming year, and it's a bit smaller all around.

The schools' revenues are down $4.4 million and the district cut $8.6 million in expenditures, but it is still expected to have a deficit of $4.6 million by the end of next year, down from the $7.9 million deficit it has at the end of this 2010-2011 fiscal year.

The board will meet Monday at 7 p.m. at the , 125 S. Church St. The 2011-2012 fiscal year begins July 1.

Find out what's happening in Brightonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The district has battled falling property taxes and decreases in state aid, its two primary sources of funding. The budget shows a loss of $1.1 million in state aid this year, as well as $2.9 million of federal funds gone, from one-time grants that have expired.

"When they're cutting our revenue, it's like a losing battle, because our expenses are going up," said Maria Gistinger, the assistant superintendent of finance for the district. "The cost of retirement, the cost of health insurance and those kinds of things that we have to fund ... so you can't win."

Find out what's happening in Brightonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The district hacked last year's $53.6 million budget down to $45 million this year, with cuts in nearly every category, from general business to operations and maintenance to transportation. The majority of money taken out of the budget was tied to salaries and benefits, with salaries falling 17.5 percent and benefits decreasing 21.2 percent across the district.

However, those numbers are pending as the administration is currently negotiating with teachers' unions, whose contracts expire Aug. 31.

"I put in this budget what we expect to achieve through negotiations," Gistinger said about the reductions listed. Salaries and benefits make up 78.3 percent of total costs to the district.

The administration has had to be extensive in finding solutions. From buying equipment in bulk to re-negotiating contracts with suppliers, both Gistinger and Superintendent Gregory Gray agree that every option has been exercised.

A new revenue-generating venture, known as shared services, could bring in $300,000 for the district. The administration has talked with Brighton-area parochial schools, including and , and offered to send Brighton teachers to teach in those schools.

In return, the students they teach count toward Brighton Area Schools' pupil totals, which will increase state funding that the district normally wouldn't receive. Gistinger called the the idea cutting edge, but the numbers won't be official until the partnerships are finalized and added to an amended budget.

Despite the fiscal challenges Brighton Area Schools faces, the district has still been able to hold its own elsewhere.

"Our students and parents won't notice anything," Gray said. "We're not cutting programming, we're not cutting busing, we're not cutting sports, we're not cutting curriculum, we're not cutting any of that."

"From my kids, and what I've seen, it's still worked well for them. I don't know that they've been denied anything," said Debbie Noetzel, the co-president of the Brighton High School PTO. "I think that the Brighton school district has done a wonderful job with working with less."

Still, the district will be keeping a close eye to its bottom line as it works toward decreasing the deficit.

"This economic downturn can't be sustained for another decade or so," Gistinger said. "I don't think we've reached the bottom, but we're close."


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