Katonah Lewisboro community members may have weathered a tough budget season just a few months ago, but they should brace themselves for darker days when it comes to the development of the 2011-12 budget, according to the bleak picture painted by district officials at the Aug. 26 school board meeting.

"It's going to be a difficult road ahead," said Michael Jumper, assistant superintendent for business, when he presented prelimary budget forecasts for next year.

The district expects increased expenses of at least $1 million, resulting from higher retirement costs and a drop in state aid. An infusion of $376,285 in federal funds through the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act may provide some relief, however, Superintendent of Schools Robert Roelle may recommend those funds be spent to provide assistance to students who fell below the new state standards on their English and math tests.

About $450,000 in federal stimulus funds through the "state stabilization funds," appropriated in 2009, are drying up in June 2011, according to Jumper. The district also likely faces an increased contribution to the state teacher retirement fund, he said.

New York is slated to receive $607 million from the new "education jobs" federal funds announced in August, but Katonah-Lewisboro's share will not be finalized until later this month. While the funds are supposed to be used for education jobs, the school board will have until September 2012 to use up the money, giving some latitude to the disrict as to how they are spent.

When the state raised the bar on elementary school testing, a move that saw math and English scores drop sharply in the district, it also gave a waiver on the legal requirement to offer academic intervention to students failing to meet proficiency standards. Given the jump in the number of students needing help, Roelle said, they may allocate funds for academic support.

Board members also shared their thoughts on budget priorities for next year, and proposed getting the community more involved in the process.

"We have to do more education in the community so they can see what's going on," said board member Warren Schloat, who added that next year's budget needs to have no more than a 1 percent increase.

Eve Hundt wanted to look carefully at the district's per-pupil education costs, and suggested that building maintenance be one area to look for cuts. "Instead of a 10, let's do a 9 or 8," she said.

Peter Breslin raised the issue of contracts, and said that they needed to reign in costs related to both the teacher and the support staff agreements. The teacher's union contract expires this year, and the support staff contract expired July 2006.

Janet Harckham discussed the work of the sustainability committee and its potential impact on district costs. "We need to look at a climate action plan for reducing greenhouse gases—we know it could be more efficient," she said.

She also suggested an idea that may not be popular—a "pay to play" model for sports and extra curriculuar activities. Board member Mark Lipton supported that idea, and also mentioned cutting high school electives to save art and music classes.

Public forums to for the community to discuss the budget process will take place October 12 and October 13 in addition to regularly scheduled board meetings.

This story is part of a nationwide Patch education series probing the economy's effect on local schools.