The inability of the state legislature and governor to come up with a state budget on time combined with the events of September 11 may leave the Cooperstown school district in a financial lurch.

"There won't be a deficit this year," said district business manager James Collison. "But next year, we're looking at a huge problem."

District superintendent Mary Jo McPhail said the operations and grounds committee met with McPhail and Collison to discuss the financial impact of the situation. Collison said the district has it on good authority, namely Senator James Seward and Assemblyman Clifford Crouch, that the state won't likely be passing a supplementary spending plan that will impact the district favorably. McPhail expected to discuss the situation with the community and school board at their regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday night.

The toll faced by taxpayers may be a heavy one come next year, when three major financial obstacles must be jumped by the district and community.

"What the school board wants is to be effective communicators so that the community is not blindsided by the fiscal news," McPhail said.

Keith Additon is the chair of the school board's operations and grounds committee. Wednesday morning, he discussed the report the committee plans to present to the full board on Wednesday night.

"I'd like the community to understand that this is going to be difficult. We want them to know they can help us. They need to expect some serious cuts," Addition said. "We felt that in order to be fiscally responsible, we should make some cuts now to pave the way for the next budget process. When you make cuts in the middle of the year, it isn't fair. Certain departments buy what they need in the beginning of the year but other departments buy their supplies as they need them and they are the ones who will be impacted."

Additon is concerned that the unfairness of the cuts will create a dent in the morale at CCS. He plans to meet with the faculty next week to apologize. The committee will suggest steps the board can take to make up lost revenue, such as taking $20,000 from the budget of Walter Bennett, superintendent of buildings and grounds.

"It isn't fair to him," Additon said. "He saves his discretionary funds for the end of the year in case something comes up and the money is needed more elsewhere. It's important for the community to understand that the budget we already had in place did not include any surplus funds, and that programs and necessities will be cut to compensate for the lack of revenue coming in from the state."

An estimated $50,000 can be saved by shaving from the current budget, Additon said, but it won't be easy. Elementary field trips will be impacted as well.

The district, when faced with the task of determining state aid revenue, made a conservative estimate based on Governor George Pataki's executive budget released in January, 2001 outlining available funds and suggested allocations, McPhail said. Nobody anticipated a freeze on BOCES aid, she said, or the $67,000 bill left unpaid by the state.

The state recently gave increased aid to small cities like Oneonta, McPhail said.

"That's good for them. Some districts are in much worse shape than we are, and some are better off. But we're not a small city," McPhail said, "so that aid doesn't benefit us."

By law, a district can carry a maximum of two percent of the total budget in its fund balance for unexpected circumstances. In Cooperstown this amount comes to just over $200,000, and Collison said the surplus will be used this year to compensate for the shortfall.

The freeze on BOCES aid isn't the only contender for biggest surprise of the fiscal year.

Prompted by a promise of a ten percent reduction in the price of building projects, Cooperstown, like many other New York districts, took the state up on its offer and began to undertake campus improvements. They now find themselves faced with new rules midway through the process, Collison said.

"The Governor has requested that school districts refinance their building projects," Collison said. "I really hate to throw numbers out there because they're so frightening. But we're looking at a possible tax levy increase of four to five percent, to start off."

The final factor in the trio is a possible hike in health insurance premiums prompted by an unprecedented number of visits to the doctor by teachers and staff in the nineteen districts that participate in the Catskill Area School Employees Benefit Plan.

"Usually, claims in the first quarter are the lowest of the year," McPhail said. "The premiums are based on prior historical reference and the need to maintain a state stipulated minimum in the fund balance. This quarter could just be an aberration. But if not, the plan could be underfunded and each of the participating districts will be required to pay their fair share to meet the minimum. This could mean an additional $100,000 in health insurance premiums."

A family plan for an employee currently costs $7,000 a year. Collison said the premiums may increase by 25 percent.

"Next year looks gloomy," Additon said. "Up until September 11 we'd been hoping that the state would work it out. But now it's just not going to happen. The revenue is shrinking, so the tax levy is going to look large."

McPhail said there is some good news to cap it all off.

"The school year started well," McPhail said. "The staff and students are hardworking and resourceful. We met with the staff Monday to discuss all these issues, and the bottom line is that we'll get through it. We're all just happy to be healthy, alive and well."