Deer Park School Board Adopts $104 Million Budget

This article was posted by Ryan Bonner. It was written and reported by Kaitlyn Piccoli.

The Deer Park School District Board of Education on Tuesday voted to adopt a $103.67 million 2013-14 budget that will reduce a handful of teacher positions and close a school by a unanimous vote.

The budget will raise the school tax levy by 2.99 percent, which factoring in exemptions, puts it under the state cap. The adopted spending plan represents a 2.4 percent increase from the current year's operating budget.

Administrators and board members had warned of staff and co-curricular cuts through the latest budget season, though a bump in the state’s tax aid saved the district from pitching harsher reductions.

Under the adopted budget, a total of 10 full-time teacher equivalents will be reduced, three of which are retirees and 3.8 of which are part-time or temporary positions.

The Board voted last month to close Abraham Lincoln School in June, which will save the district an estimated $349,000 next year, with the potential for lease revenue in the future. The pre-kindergarten and alternative high school programs will be relocated within the district in September.

The budget will be made available to the public on Thursday, April 25 and a public budget hearing is set for Tuesday, May 7.

The budget vote will take place on Tuesday, May 21 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.