BY MATT LINDSEY
North Country This Week

NORWOOD – Norwood-Norfolk Central Superintendent James “Jamie” Cruikshank says his district is $1,864,286 underfunded in Foundation Aid according to the state formula and that half the other St. Lawrence County schools are in the same boat.

NNCS received about $278,000 in Foundation Aid in the new state budget, he said.

“Foundation Aid was established after NYS was forced to provide adequate funding so that all schools in NY can receive the same basic education,” Cruikshank said. “Foundation Aid is the basis for education equity.”

The state established the formula, but now doesn't fund it.

“About half the schools in NYS are under while the others are overfunded, according to the Foundation Aid formula,” he said.

“Foundation Aid can be looked at as ‘operational aid’ - our aid increase did not come close to funding the Foundation Aid formula,” he said.

NNCS will present an increase of 1.29%, which equates to $84,012. “NNCS has always complied with the tax cap and this coming year is no exception. The local share, which includes STAR, is $6,618,768,” Cruikshank said.

The Board approved expenditure for 2019-20 is $24,191,886, which is a $596,753 increase from this year. This is a 2.5% increase from last year.

The estimated tax rate versus last year will not be known until August when the county sets the rate.

“We do project the rate to be approximately $25.86, using the 2018-19 full value assessments and equalization rates." But, he said, for the past six years the rate has barely increased. 

However, for the past six years our rate per $1,000 assessed dollars has remained near 0%,” he said.

The most significant increase in costs at NNCS is in their “Tuition/Residential Tuition” for students with disabilities.

“We're also experiencing a significant increase in contractual health insurance costs, although the increase is less than what it's been for the past few years,” he said. “With significant increases in some areas of expenditures, combined with smaller than desired increases in revenue, we've looked at all our costs so that we can continue to provide an exceptional program for our children.”

NNCS does not have plans to include funding for a student resource officer in its budget.

The school will however add a mental health counselor position to its staff in an effort to meet the needs of its students.

No positions or programs are expected to be cut.

“I'm proud of the budget that we've put forward. With significant increases in some areas combined with inflationary costs, combined with underfunded Foundation Aid, we are providing a great academic program. The increase to the local taxpayer is minimal and complies with the tax cap regulations,” Cruikshank said.