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042304 K -L board member explains long-term factors in budget increases
To: the Editor:
Katonah-Lewisboro School District
In his letter to the editor ("KatonahLewisboro should do better job meeting price index," by Tim Cronin, The Record-Review, April 2), Mr. Cronin stated that a seven-year historical retrospective for the Katonah Lewisboro School District expenditures was more appropriate than a 10-year period. As I said in my presentation to the board of education, "your mileage may vary," meaning that picking a different starting point or period would lead to different percentages. For the record then, here is the data on the last 7 years of actual expenditures (from 1995-96 to 2002-2003):
Enrollment went from 3,304 to 4,112 - an increase of 24 percent.
• Inflation (the consumer price index) went from 154.4 to 181.7 - an increase of 18 percent.
• The combination of inflation and enrollment increased 46 percent.
• District expenditures went from $40,423,358 to $72,668,914 - an increase of 80 percent.
• District property tax assessment went from $35,100,00 to $66,502,000 - an increase of 89 percent.
• District "aid" (the difference between' expenditures and the tax assessment) went from $5,323,358 to $6,166,914 - an increase of 16 percent.
Adjusting for inflation and enrollment leads to the following results:
• District expenditures per student (in 1996 dollars) went from $12,234.67 to $15,017.16 - an increase of 23 percent in seven years, or an average of 2.97 percent/year.
• District property taxes per student (in - 1996 dollars) went from $10,623.49 to $13,742.67 - an increase of 29 percent in seven years, or an average of 3.75 percent/year.
• District "aid" per student (in 1996 dollars) went from $1611.19 to $1274.40, which represents a decrease of 21 percent in seven years, or an average decrease of 3.29 percent/year.
Despite the fact that this seven-year period includes the costs of our 1995 construction bond and none of the enrollment increases that led up to that bond, I believe these figures still show that inflation, enrollment, and declining aid were major long-term factors in our district's increase in expenditures and taxes.
Brent Hailpern is vice president of the Katonah-Lewisboro School Board. These opinions are his own and do not necessarily represent those of the KatonahLewisboro Board of Education.