Rye school district discusses budget

Rye City School District Assistant Superintendent for Business Kathleen Ryan held a presentation April 3 to discuss the proposed 2012-13 budget.

Before the budget discussion, Board of Education president Laura Slack addressed concerns about the proposed budget that stemmed from a misunderstanding that occurred during the March 27 budget discussion. Personnel cuts and facility spending, included in the proposed budget and mentioned during the March 27 presentation, led many to believe that the two were linked. Slack assured the public that the personnel cuts were in response to the tax cap with no mandate relief and are necessary to have a tax-compliant budget. She further clarified that the funds for proposed facility improvements would come from leftover bond money or reserves and not personnel cuts.

In a statement issued by the Rye City School District, Slack said: "This administration and board would never conceive of making staff reductions in order to fund facility work. So I need to make clear tonight that the two are not linked in any way. Staff reductions were included in the budget proposed by (Superintendent) Dr. (Edward) Shine in order to remain a tax cap-compliant budget."

The Board of Education is expected to adopt the proposed budget during its April 18 meeting.