Owego-Apachin on Very Solid Ground: Dr. Russell A day after the State Comptroller’s office issued a report tagging Owego Apalachin Schools as a district “susceptible to fiscal stress,” Dr. Bill Russell, OA superintendent, said the district’s fiscal status is actually on very solid ground. “The factors the Comptroller’s formula identified have been part of our long-range budget plan,” the superintendent noted. “They have been available to us because of our solid financial situation, and have enabled us to avoid large tax increases and substantial cuts to programs, services and staff.” Thirteen percent of school districts in New York state face some degree of fiscal stress, according to the report released Thursday by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The report warned that schools are dealing with chronic budget deficits, limited revenue and depleted reserve funds, with the problem being most pronounced in upstate schools. Owego Apalachin was one such district listed. Two factors led to OA being cited in the report. “We have been using reserves and fund balance to make our budgets work in these times of fiscal distress for public schools,” Dr. Russell said. “We have been very successful in that regard, offering one of the lowest average tax increases in this region over the past five years, at just 1.1 percent per year.” Second, the district was cited for having a reduced amount of cash on hand, which has been a direct consequence of major expenditures on flood recovery. Dr. Russell explained that of the 33 “points” for which OA was penalized, 20 were a direct result of the district using available reserves to balance budgets, avoid major cutbacks, and keep taxes low. “We have been fortunate to have adequate ‘rainy day’ funds in reserve, and have responsibly used moderate amounts in order to avoid major cuts and keep our tax levy increases very low,” he said. “That strategy can’t continue indefinitely, of course, as our reserves are not limitless, but it has helped us weather the worst of the crisis in school funding.” The other 13-point deduction in the Comptroller’s analysis came because OA was forced to use cash on hand to pay for flood recovery costs over the past two-and-a-half years while awaiting reimbursements from flood insurance and FEMA. The superintendent noted that, just this past week, the district received a $3.2 million check from FEMA to help replenish those funds, and that altogether the district has been reimbursed nearly $12 million for its flood recovery expenditures, to date. “Our cash position was temporarily reduced due to the flood,” Dr. Russell said. “If that hadn’t occurred, Owego Apalachin never would have been on the Comptroller’s list in the first place.”
Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 22:29:17 +0000
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