Lansing Board of Education talks budget process

School administrators in Lansing gearing up for budget season.

Chris Pettograsso, Lansing Central School District (LCSD) superintendent, presented an outline of important budget stakeholders, dates and processes at the district’s Board of Education meeting on Nov. 27. The district will account for these elements as it prepares its 2024-2025 spending plan. Pettograsso said she expects the board to adopt a budget by April 24 and a taxpayer vote on said budget on May 21, with opportunities for board and community input sandwiched in between.

To start off the meeting, Pettograsso went over the teams that administrators connect with to make budgetary decisions.

“There are different teams that we have that do different things,” she said. The leadership team, which will meet on a weekly basis from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. is made up of Pettograsso; Assistant Superintendent of Business Administration Kathryn Heath; the school principals for all three district schools; Director of Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment and Professional Development Christine Rebera; and several other program directors.

Pettograsso added that there is an extended leadership team with which administrators will meet on a daily basis to make sure that departments run efficiently without sacrificing student programming. This team is made up of staff union leaders and the district supervisors of buildings and grounds, transportation, food services, technology and childcare.

“[For example,] we will look at all aspects of the transportation budget over the course of the next couple months to see where we can right-size,” Pettograsso said.

To do so, Pettograsso said, the team will look at departments’ staffing, current materials and supplies needs and level of student involvement.

“We approach this as student-based as possible, looking at data and sustainability,” she added.

One of the core philosophies of the district’s budgeting approach is student-centric. 

“Anything that is high cost, low student value, we look at that to see what the program’s impacts actually are,” Pettograsso noted.

The public will have at least two chances to ask school administrators and district staff questions about the budgeting process. One of the community open forums is scheduled for March 5, and the other one is set for April 9. 

“These open forums are designed to share information, gather input and answer questions,” Pettograsso said. “We schedule two but can hold more if necessary.”

LCSD will also utilize department meetings; in-class discussions with high school students; faculty, staff, and high school student surveys; booster clubs meetings; town government meetings; community surveys; and short videos on the district’s website and social media to gather further feedback.

Additionally, Pettograsso said, the board can use board meetings or even summon budget workshops to bring in district experts to talk through specific parts of the budgeting process.

District administrators plan to highlight the following topics during upcoming Board of Education meetings:

• Jan. 8: 2024-2025 Governor budget proposal and its potential impacts of school districts
• Feb. 12: Review of the district’s property tax cap
• Feb. 26: Updates on the renovation Capital Project approved by voters in 2022
• March 11 and 25: Review of staffing at district departments with a look toward 2024-2025 school year
• April 8: Draft budget presentation with finalized state aid figures
• April 24 Budget adoption

A draft budget will hinge on the New York state budget, which indicates how much state aid local school districts will get. The state budget also typically includes policy items that can, in some instances, affect expenditures and revenues. The deadline for Albany leaders to reach an agreement on the state spending plan is April 1, but state officials can extend that if a deal is not reached. 

Pettograsso also detailed a series of important dates once the budget has been adopted by the Board of Education:

• April 26: The budget newsletter is sent to print
• April 30: The budget newsletter is mailed to district families
• May 13: Budget public hearing and “meet the Board of Education candidates” session
• May 21: Budget and Board of Education members vote

When voters go to the polls on May 21, they’ll also have a chance to vote on two Board of Education seats. Board of Education President Aziza Benson and board member Aaron Thompson have terms expiring next June.

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @ezvelazquez.

In brief:

The current art exhibit at the Lansing Community Library community room highlights the heart as a sentimental reminder of loss and love through artistic meditation. Ithaca artist Jessica Stratton’s “From The Bottom of My Heart” features a series of anatomical heart illustrations.

“Overall, these hearts are left open enough for each person to find their own connection or meaning in them,” Stratton says in an excerpt found on the library’s website. “Whether it be a symbol of health, life, love, loss, compassion, or affection, I hope these hearts bring a bit of joy to those who see them.”

The exhibit will run from December to January.