Subcommittees Report to P’ville School Officials in Budget Prep
The Pleasantville Board of Education received a report from some of the district’s citizen budget subcommittees last week as the calendar draws closer to the release of the first draft of the 2012-13 spending plan.
A steering committee and eight subcommittees consisting of a cross section of the community have each focused on a particular section of the budget. The subcommittees have been examining the district’s three schools as well as athletics, special education technology, facilities and central operations.
At the board’s Feb. 7 meeting Dominick Balletta and Peter Rogovin of the special education subcommittee presented their assessment of that department.
“Special education is a unique program,” Balletta said. “It must be specially created. It is prone to mythology and misunderstanding.”
That group looked at costs and whether the department had made the district a magnet for other districts’ students.
“Special education is an important community asset and a source of pride,” Balletta said. “It is thoughtfully developed and the costs are at or below other comparable districts.”
The group discovered that the special education graduation rate is above average. The taxpayers’ portion of the special education budget has also declined in recent years.
“The program is managed with great fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers,” Rogovin said. “We should stay the course on policies and procedures. The trend is moving in the right direction.”
District resident Michael Inglis, a Briarcliff High School teacher who presented the Pleasantville High School subcommittee report, said his group would like to see enhanced academic support, an increase in the student-teacher ratio and raising the minimum class size to 12 students.
The subcommittee also recommended the district consider longer class periods, reduce study halls and reintroduce admission standards for AP classes rather than permitting open enrollment.
While the high school’s budget is higher than Irvington and Briarcliff high schools, increasing the number of Pocantico students would increase revenues. Pleasantville is paid $15,000 for every student that comes from Pocantico.
After the meeting, Board of Education President Lois Winkler said she was pleased with the work of the subcommittees.
“I thought it went very well,” Winkler said. “The committees spent a lot of time and effort and gave us a lot of information to digest and consider. I look forward to future discussions.”
The middle school and athletic subcommittees are scheduled to make their presentations on Feb. 28.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.