Somers Board of Education hears budget presentations

SOMERS, N.Y. - Somers’ annual school budget cycle, which starts each July, is a long and arduous one.

Before the spending plan can be adopted and presented to the public for a vote, revenue and expenditure projections have to be made, individual budgets for each of its four schools, departments, and district-wide things must be prepared, and input obtained from stakeholders such as faculty, staff, members of the Citizens Finance Committee, etc.

Then there’s the phase where these insights are compiled, budget “desires” prioritized, and budget recommendations prepared.

Once all the numbers are identified, the Board of Education adopts the preliminary budget and holds a public hearing.

In May, voters get to say “yea” or “nay” on the plan and also to elect three school board trustees.

(Members whose terms are up this June are Amanda Kandel (president), Chadwick Olsen (vice president), and Dr. Ifay Chang (trustee).)

Also on the ballot will be a $63.9 million bond package to authorize districtwide projects, such safety and security enhancement, infrastructure improvements (parking, sidewalks, roofs), classroom and playground renovations, and HVAC and electrical system upgrades.

More detailed information on the bond will be provided before the May 20 vote.

The bond will be “tax neutral,” meaning that it won’t by itself increase taxes. That’s because debt for old bonds will be paid off and replaced with the new debt.

But that’s not the end of it.

The adopted budget has to be executed, then monitored, and finally, its data evaluated for use in the next year’s planning process.

Then the whole thing starts all over again – sort of like the movie Groundhog Day.

In January, the school board was given an overview of non-instruction costs. Earlier this month, it took a look at the nuts and bolts of the instructional side of things -- the funds allocated for teaching and learning materials, such as textbooks; technology, and teacher salaries. 

Making the latest presentation on Tuesday, Feb. 11, was Chris Platania, the district’s superintendent for business and operations. Providing details were building principals Katie Winter (Primrose Elementary School), Linda Belger (Somers Intermediate School), Jennifer Mangone (Somers Middle School), and Pete Rodrigues (Somers High School).

The recommendations break down this way.

Primrose Elementary School

Salaries – for administrators, teachers, teaching assistants, and teacher aides – now totaling $8.7 million will rise slightly to $9 million.

Equipment and supplies will go down a bit from $56,695 to $56,395.

Service agreements and other contractual costs won’t change that much. This go-round, they are $27,355; in 2025-2026, they’re projected at $29,955.

In 2023-2024, the district updated its reading curriculum. This required the purchase of new textbooks and other materials.

The bill came in at $138,160. But in 2024-2025, that shrunk to $33,700. The proposed budget calls for expenditures of $43,600.

BOCES services will rise to $34,000 from the current $32,150.

The grand total is $9,188,917, up from 2024-2025’s $8,913,813.

Primrose’s staff of 120 includes administrators, teachers, counselors, teacher aides and assistants, custodians, occupational/speech therapists, psychologists, librarians, and monitors.

Programs and services that fall under the heading of “21st Century Knowledge and Skills” include: the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Program (K-2), Wit and Wisdom, Fundations (K-2), Everyday Mathematics, Science 21 Assessment, and DIBELS, a series of short tests designed to assess key literacy skills.

The support of social-emotional wellness is a stated goal of the district. Those programs at PES include health/physical education, social skills, and executive functioning.

Global Citizenship is as well. Activities and lessons include Colored in Character, St. Luke’s Food Pantry, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, and Valentine’s for Veterans.

Opportunities for family and community engagement include PTA, SEPTA, and the No Place for Hate Committee.

Somers Intermediate School

In SIS’s proposed budget, funding for staff is anticipated to decrease to $9.4 million from the present $9.6 million.

(SIS has 121 employees)

That’s due, Platania explained, to retirements, a position that’s not being replaced, and the “reclassification of budget codes for some people.”

Equipment and supplies are also going down, to $50,946 from $51,596, while service and other contractual costs will rise slightly to $31,304 from $29,804.

Again, SIS’s textbooks costs were high in 2023-2024 -- $153,579. They’ve stabilized at $36,000 for 2024-2025 and 2025-2026.

BOCES services will see an uptick from $30,200 to $30,500.

The grand total for 2025-2026 is $9,597,524, up from 2024-2025’s $9,818,147.

SIS’s programs and services that fall under the heading of “21st Century Knowledge and Skills” include Fundations (3rd grade), Wit and Wisdom, Science 21, World Language Assessment, IXL Math and ELA, and DIBELS.

It follows the same protocol for health and wellness as does PES, but also includes (because the kids are older here) digital citizenship.

Global citizenship programs at SIS include Inclusive Schools Week, Be a Hero, Community Building, grade level givebacks, and participation with St. Luke’s Food Pantry, and United for the Troops.

According to Belger, the percentage of SCSD students with “classified needs” has increased.

“It used to be about 16 percent, now it’s 22 percent,” she said, adding that that reflects a statewide trend, the origins of which she was not certain.

In order to meet those needs – and not have to send students out of district to other programs – Somers aims to maintain a certain student-to-teacher ratio, Belger said.

“Hopefully, as they get older (and leave elementary school for middle school), they’ll have more skills and not need as much adult support,” she said.

Somers Middle School

Again, there were no “drastic” year-to-year changes foreseen in the SMS budget, Platania said.

Salaries were expected to rise to $11 million from $10.6 million. Equipment and supplies were going down to $113,026 from $119,142.

(SMS has 116 employees.)

Service agreements and other contractual costs will go up to $112,750 from $98,078. That’s partly due to additional days being added for a student assistance counselor, he explained.

Textbook costs will decrease to $15,430 from $18,743 and BOCES services will go up a tad to $11,087 from $10,087.

The grand total for 2025-2026 is $11,295,661, up from 2024-2025’s $10,901,967.

SMS programs and services that fall under the heading of “21st Century Knowledge and Skills” include MYP (Middle Years Program) Unit Planning, Literacy – Science of Reading, WIN (What I Need) – Interventions and Enrichment, ALP (Advanced Learning Plan), a legal document that outlines education for gifted students; AIS ELA and Math, and Earth Science and Algebra Assessment.

(AIS stands for Academic Intervention Services, which are supplemental instruction and support services for students who need help meeting state learning standards. ELA is an acronym for English Language Arts.)

According to Mangone, next year’s biggest focus will be on so-called “pathways,” especially in the area of math.

The learning system helps students prepare for college, careers, and citizenship and can include a variety of courses, internships, and other experiences.

Information about course recommendations and other pathway related things, such as the “selection” process, will be on its ways to interested parents shortly, she promised.

Social/emotional wellness offerings at SMS includes True North (a transitional support program), DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) skills, counseling, and executive functioning.

(DBT is intended to help adolescents manage difficult emotional situations, cope with stress, and to make better decisions.)

Mangone also highlighted the school’s mentoring program, where 8th graders offer friendship, support, and advice to 6th graders.

Available under the heading of “Global Citizenship” include MYP instruction and interdisciplinary works, Tusker Experience/Advisory, and Community Project Grade 8.

The annual community project is part of the school’s MYP program. Students explore community needs and address them through service learning. It builds skills such as creativity and ingenuity.

One of the things that students put their two cents in on recently or so was the pedestrian crossing on Route 202. This year, they’ve suggested installing a digital double-sided sign at SMA like the one that sits in front of the high school.

The idea is to provide information, raise awareness, and to encourage the public to attend activities, programs, and events.

Opportunities for family and community engagement at SMS include groups such as the PTA (Parent Teacher Association), SEPTA (Special Education Parent Teacher Association), SEF (Somers Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises funds for projects that enhance educational experiences for students and staff), the No Place for Hate Committee, and MYP Parent Night.

Somers High School

According to the proposed SHS budget were expected to rise to $5.1 million from $5 million.

(SHS has 153 employees.)

Equipment and supplies costs would go down a bit to $234,446 from $241,975 and the service agreements/other contractual line would rise to $423,899 from $406,783.

The district has budgeted $6,122 for textbooks this year; next year it expects to spend $12,330.

A decline in the number of participants in BOCES’ career and technical education programs, will reduce that budget line to $610,891 from $755,420.

The grand total for 2025-2026 is $16,420,766, a teensy bit up from 2024-2025’s $16,412,464.

Programs and services expand at the secondary school level.

A sampling of SHS’s include its Advanced Placement Program, AI teacher training, dual enrollment courses, IB World Schools Diploma Programme (grades 11-12); MYP (grades 9-10), music ensembles, drama productions, “pathways” in engineering/biomedical sciences/sciences, and Tusker 101, a class for freshmen that helps them transition to high school.

Also highlighted was the district’s “Project Lead the Way,” which offers students specialized STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) curriculums.

Pointing out that the state Education Department is proposing changes in requirements for high school diplomas, Rodrigues told the board that the “word for the evening” was “pathways.”

The state plan is based on the work of the state’s blue-ribbon committee on graduation measures. It began studying equity in schools in 2019.

One of the things that will happen -- if it’s approved – is that by the fall of 2027, students will no longer be required to pass Regents exams in math, English, science, and social studies, to graduate.

Because of federal requirements, the exams would still be offered but they would become just one of several ways students can demonstrate proficiency in those subjects.

Other proposed “transformations” include the adoption of a new state “portrait of a graduate” and the re-definition of credits.

The high school’s numerous programs and services will help students “find multiple pathways to receiving their graduation credentials,” Rodrigues said.

Social/emotional wellness is supported at the high school level with things such as college admissions counseling and support, career workshops, academic support, expanded athletic offerings, and youth mental health first aid.

Global citizenship is encouraged through internships, cultural and heritage celebrations, senior experiences, and the MYP 10th grade personal project (now in its pilot phase).

Family and community engagement is supported by the PTA, SEPTA, SEF, booster clubs, parent events, and principal’s coffees.

Special Education

Stacey Elconin, the district’s director of special services, was up next.

The proposed special education budget is expected to rise to $7.8 million from the current $6.6 million.

Broken down, the proposed allocation for central office staff salaries will increase to $886,941 from $841,118; equipment and supplies to $59,400 from $44,550; service agreements and other contractual obligations to $891,337 from $660,820; out-of-district tuition to $3.2 million from $2.5 million; and BOCES services to $2.7 million from $2.5 million.

The central office staff consists of a director, an assistant director, the chair of the Committee on Special Education, and four office assistants.

Special education teacher salaries are included in the budgets for each individual school, Elconin said.

Students with IEPs (Individual Education Programs) have conditions such as a learning disability, speech or language impairment, and/or physical health issues that impact their education.

Autism accounts for a certain percentage of IEPs assignments as do intellectual, emotional, and/or “other” disabilities.

Related services include counseling, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy.

The “continuum of services” offered range from the “least restrictive” – access to consultant teachers, participation in a resource room program – to the “most restrictive” – special classes and out-of-district or residential placements.

Out-of-district placements occur when the student’s needs cannot be met within the SCSD.

Next Up

The next budget planning session is set for March 25. The board will summarize the budget and adopt it on April 22. The public hearing will take place on May 6 and the vote itself is set for May 20.