After a special meeting of the Cooperstown Board of Education last Wednesday, district superintendent Mary Jo McPhail said that she and district business manager Jim Collison, with the help of school administrators, are working on revisions to bring the proposed budget more in line with the single digit hike the board would like to see achieved.

At a school board meeting earlier this month, McPhail predicted a tentative increase of fourteen percent in school tax levy this year.

"This is very much a work in progress," said McPhail. "We've been working diligently since the school board meeting to come in with lower figures."

The budget presented at that meeting, according to McPhail, did not include any new programs or innovations, but rather was aimed at sustaining the current programs and staff.

She said Tuesday that the board was to be presented with another spending plan at last night's meeting that would reflect it's desire for a single digit tax increase.

"The board spent a lengthy evening reviewing the status of the budget," McPhail said, "reviewing a list of possible reductions, having long discussions. We'll be presenting the board with another possible budget next Wednesday. The intent is to focus on items that have the least impact on programs, staffing, curriculum writing monies, and non-mandated programs.

"Certainly I think the decisions that the board faces aren't easy, but we're working to get it down to single digits. That's their goal."

Costs driving the budget include the purchase of two additional school buses, salary increases at a total of $460,000, fringe benefits like health care at an increased cost of $163,000, a $60,000 BOCES capital projects increase, the continued infrastructure upgrade and new furniture for the middle/high school office as well as new desks for students.

McPhail said that a $150,000 fund balance would be used to offset expenses, but that this figure is just an estimate.

She added that the district can put the budget out twice for a vote. If it is defeated both times, a contingency budget would go into effect. A contingency budget can, at most, be four percent over the prior year's budget. Already, this budget is over six percent higher than last year's. In the case of a contingency budget being adopted, an additional $434,000 would have to be slashed.

Once all the details have been worked out, the budget will be adopted on April 6 and voted on by district residents on May 15.