Budget Talks: Kemper Funds Out, More Teachers In?

by Joan R. Simon

(January 6, 2004) Everything is potentially “up for grabs” in next year’s budget, according to Celia Felsher, Mamaroneck School Board president, speaking at a study session on Tuesday, January 4. That includes possibly removing $800,000 which had been scheduled for reconfiguring the Kemper Memorial Park and adding a sports field at the high school. Leaving out the Kemper funds from the 2005-2006 budget was one of several proposals Ms. Felsher asked Superintendent Sherry King to consider as she prepares a preliminary budget that will be finalized later in the year and presented to the community for a vote on May 17, 2005.

Reviewing the Kemper project was one of many ideas that arose during two community meetings held late last year. (See:The Multi-Million Dollar Question:How to Lower the Mamaroneck School Budget and Public Budget Sessions Yield Few Cost Savings.) Other items that Ms. Felsher suggested Dr. King should investigate were: the reduction of class size in the kindergarten from 25 to 22 (which is estimated to add two teachers); an increase of four teachers at the high school to keep up with population growth; and a thorough review of expenditures in discretionary areas such as technology, staff development and equipment.

Ms. Felsher summed up the two earlier study sessions, in which parents participated, by saying that there was “concern and frustration over the magnitude of the budget increases." The 2003-2004 budget included a 9.88% tax increase, and last year's went up 9.82% and passed by only 76 votes. "We need to be careful on a longer-term basis," said Ms. Felsher. "There is a desire for everything to be looked at with a fresh eye. Everything is up for grabs.”

One fresh concept that cropped up on Tuesday evening came from the audience. Blythe Hamer, a former Hommocks PTA president who is currently student activities director at the high school, suggested a private fundraising campaign to support the new sports field. Speaking later, she characterized the idea as still in the “supermarket talk” phase, but added, “When you say something about it, you’ve got to do something.”

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