Schools

School Budget Breakdown: How $70 Million is Spent

A look at the details of Nyack Schools' 2011-12 proposed budget

  • To clarify: the 2011-12 Nyack School budget says the superintendent's salary is $250,000. But school officials note that number is dated—$235,000 is the accurate figure.

The proposed 2011-12 budget for Nyack Schools is a contentious issue—the plan and also pays the new superintendent, , $235,000.

Here's a breakdown of how the proposed $70,852,914 would be spent:

The bulk of the budget—$24,187,621—would go toward the salaries of teachers, substitutes and aides. About $6 million is allocated for teachers of grades K through three; about $3.5 million is allocated for teachers of grades four through six; and about $10.7 million is allocated for teachers of grades seven through 12.

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Also included in this $24 million chunk are supplies—textbooks for the year would cost around $235,000, or about $60 per student—and pay for the schools' security guards. The security personnels' compensation comes in at around $600,000, not including possible overtime work.

The highest salary will go to the schools' newly hired superintendent, , who comes from New Jersey schools and begins his duties here on June 29. Montesano will receive a salary of $235,000, significantly more than the .

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(Details on these figures can be found on pages 18-22 in the attached PDF.)

Another major line item in the proposed budget is benefits. Almost $8 million would go toward employees' hospital, medical and dental insurance. On top of that, about $3.6 million will go to the district's retirement contribution. This money is allocated for teachers, principals, administrators, teaching assistants and substitute teachers who are part of the New York State Teachers Retirement System. The district's contribution is based on a percentage of salaries.

(Details on these figures can be found on pages 42-43.)

Some other, one-off expenses with high price tags include the salary of the district's transportation coordinator ($73,918) and the salaries of attendance and registrar clerks ($107,774).

Much of the budget is made up of compounded smaller costs—ones that are deemed necessary but do not quickly leap to mind when thinking of a school district's expenses. Among them: $5,000 for the fingerprinting of new employees, $66,000 to use village sewers, $700 for supplies for the bully-prevention curriculum and $23,000 for a sixth-grade summer reading program.

Although taxpayers traditionally shoulder about 85 percent of the budget (in this case, approximately $60,000,000), some residents are not pleased with this year's proposed cuts and lay-offs. Read about the community's reaction .


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