K-L Board Reviews Spending Analysis

In their presentation of a cost analysis of per pupil spending, the finance committee of the K-L school board said that local residents have fewer resources but shoulder a bigger school tax burden than comparable school districts.

They also said teacher contracts are relatively more generous than other districts—though a more educated and experienced staff may be a factor—which contributes to a higher per-pupil costs in Katonah Lewisboro than in the Harrison, Bedford, Scarsdale, Byram Hills, and Chappaqua school districts.

"It’s crystal clear that what is driving our per pupil expenses," said board member Mike Gordon at the May 30 meeting.

"The biggest component is instruction and benefits and that comes from collective bargaining...This is not the time and place to talk about negotiations—but at least we can say there a number of myths, I would call them, that we have put to rest. And the information is here for all to see," Gordon said.

The committee, composed of three school board members, two district officials and six community volunteers, . This year they found the trend continuing and dug deeper to analyze the major drivers and the community’s ability to educate students at current cost levels.  

Howard Averill and David Mallet presented the committee’s findings to the board. Averill reviewed the per pupil and salary data, which showed Katonah Lewisboro spent the most per student at $27,988 in 2010-11, as compared to the second-highest district, Byram Hills, at $26,710 and Bedford which had the lowest per-pupil spend at $25,632.

The K-L district was also ranked second-highest for teacher salaries, just behind Scarsdale. Read Patch's first story on

Affordability

To assess the community's ability to support its schools, the committee analyzed public tax return data and compared adjusted gross income on a per pupil basis in the comparison districts.

"If you think about the financial wherewithal of the community to support education of the students, I think this is the single best metric," said David Mallet, a member of the finance committee. "There is a direct relationship and it's quite striking that the Katonah Lewisboro AGI is about $450,000 versus an average of $811,000 in comparison districts—it is half the average."

The analysis also found that the K-L community spends more of its resources on education.

Local residents pay about $52 in school taxes for every $1,000 of income earned, as compared to the average of $29. Scarsdale residents pay $23, the lowest amount in the comparison group.

Mallet said the data could be "ameliorated" if real estate values were going up, but that is not the case. Real estate values were higher in every comparable district—the average price of real estate per square foot was $337 compared to K-L's $263—and the average sale prices have increased only three percent in the last ten years here as compared to an average of 25 percent in the comparison districts.

Next steps

The real objective of the continuing study, the committee said, was to come up with a benchmark—by understanding where the money is being spent, the community can decide how to proceed.

Gordon suggested a “summit” meeting for the committee and the board to talk through the data thoroughly and develop next steps—possibly even taking the information to state officials in Albany, whom he blames for maintaining the Triborough Amendment to the Taylor law, which prevents public employers from changing contracts unless a new agreement is agreed upon by both bargaining parties.

“That makes every collective bargaining agreement indestructible,” he said. “At the end of the day, we go into that negotiating room and if they don’t like what we are presenting, they can get up and leave. Their contract stays as is.”

Board member Janet Harckham pointed out the presentation was “purely numbers,” and didn’t reflect the caring and devotion of the district’s teachers.

“I want to state to the teachers and staff, I believe strongly that you do a wonderful job, that is not what's in question,” she said. “But I’m after fairness and it's really interesting because now the data helps us."

Board president Mark Lipton agreed.

“We talk about this all the time and the community should have this conversation among themselves. There is a difference between the teacher in the classroom and the business of hiring teachers and support staff. This conversation is not about teachers in the classroom, this is a business discussion,” he said.

During public forum, Eve Hundt, former school board member, thanked the committee for their work and asked the board for an update on meetings with the teacher’s association that were mandated as part of the last contract negotiation.

“I know you are not allowed to talk about the conversations in the room, but can you let us know what kind of issues you are grappling with and what out-of-the-box solutions you’re coming up with?” she said.

Lipton responded by saying he would make sure the board prepared a narrative on how conversations had gone thus far. Warren Schloat added that they had the four required contractual meetings and they had been “very interesting.”

The district is also continuing its work with a health care consultant in an attempt to rein in benefits costs, according to Michael Jumper, assistant superintendent of business.

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