The Port Washington Board of Education presented the third review of their 2023-2024 budget at a March 7 meeting, in which budgets for the athletics, creative arts, facilities, transportation and security departments are projected to increase despite a deficit in the budget.
The board convened at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Paul D. Schreiber High Schoo auditorium to present the selected portion of their budget to the community.
The district has $12.1 million in increases in expenditures and only $8.4 million in growth. Challenges the district has experienced include medical insurance increasing by $3.8 million and contractual salaries increasing by $2.5 million.
The athletics department is requesting multiple expenditures, including additions to the project adventure climbing apparatus, flooring for Schreiber High School and Weber Middle School fitness rooms and new championship banners for Schreiber’s gymnasium.
All budget components for the athletic department are projected to be increased, with an overall increase for the department of about $54,000.
The creative arts department’s requests for supply costs have increased significantly due to the district trying to get back to pre-pandemic amounts. The department is also requesting to resume field trips and participation in honor ensembles and competitions as well as guest artist programs.
The department is anticipating repairs and rentals of instruments to increase by 26.6%. The district will address this by purchasing supplies and materials for Newline Interactive TV at Schreiber High School, 10 Canon Rebel cameras and multiple instruments.
All budget lines for the creative arts department are either increasing or staying the same compared to the current year, with an overall increase of nearly $38,000 for the creative arts department.
The operations and maintenance of facilities department budget is projected to increase overall by $756,835 compared to the current budget. This is due to increases in utility costs, increases to the supply code, increases to the playground equipment code and equipment expenditures.
The 2023-24 utility costs are expected to increase by over 28% for the district.
The transportation budget is proposed to increase by $1.2 million in the 2023-24 year. This is due to expenditures of purchasing two 28-30 passenger buses, replacing the gas pump, increases in contracts for transportation and the material and supplies code increasing due to an increase in fuel purchases.
The proposed security budget is increasing by $380,000, due to reasons including the purchase of a security vehicle, upgrades to software, upgrades and replacements of the security walkie-talkie system and door-ajar alarms at all schools.
The next budget workshop will be held on March 21 and will provide an overview of revenues and review the budget aspects of personnel, ELL, BOCES, drivers education and adult education.
The budget will be adopted on April 18, a public budget hearing will be held on May 2. It will then be voted on during the annual school board election on May 16.
Tuesday night’s meeting also included a presentation by Renu Energy Solutions in regards to a potential engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with the district.
The purpose of the contract is to provide energy-saving opportunities to the district, that are environmentally and fiscally conscious for the district.
Projects would include making the district 100% LED lighting, solar – including on roofs, solar canopies in parking lots and ground-mounted solar, upgrading unit ventilators, replacing some rooftop HVAC units and replacing interior electric transformers.
No preliminary estimates for the total budget of Renu’s services can be provided at this time, but some component costs have been estimated. This includes a projection of $17 million for unit ventilators with air conditioning, $12 million for standard unit ventilators and $2.5 million for rooftop solar.
The next step going forward with the process is for the district to perform the investment grade audit in order to determine the specific needs and opportunities for the district’s energy plan. Once done, more accurate cost proposals can be provided.
The district has an energy performance contract currently with a different contractor. In 2017, that contract was engaged by the district with Johnson Controls.
Trustee Rachel Gilliar, who is a member of the board’s budget and facilities committee, said she likes the proposal of Renu and thinks it’s a “no-brainer” for the district to move in the direction of utilizing better renewable energy sources that are “hopefully cost-beneficial” for the district.
“This is part and parcel to what this board has been trying to do for several years, which is a move to being very forward thinking and proactive about our infrastructure in this district,” Gilliar said.
The board will convene again at 7:30 p.m. on March 21, where they will conclude with the final budget workshop.
