Riverhead school nurse retirements to save money; other expenses going up
Riverhead School District will spend about $940,000 for nursing in the 2013-14 school year, a 13.09 percent drop due to three retiring nurses being replaced with newer staff at lower salaries, Superintendent Nancy Carney said during a proposed budget presentation at Tuesday night’s school board meetings.
Ms. Carney gave a budget presentation about special education, student programs and school activities costs during Tuesday night’s schools board meeting. Last month, Ms. Carney announced that more than 20 Riverhead School District employees have accepted a retirement incentive offer, which she said will result in a $2 million savings.
Although each employee that takes the retirement incentive will receive $20,000, Ms. Carney said the move will still save the district over $70,000 per employee that accepts the offer and the district will now likely be able to present a budget within the state-mandated tax levy cap.
Spending in the other fields is going up.
She projected about $1.3 million in spending for career and technology education, a nearly 7 percent increase, because more students have expressed an interest in attending BOCES vocational classes during the 2013-14 school year.
She estimates special education and home instruction expenses for students home schooled due to health reasons or suspensions will cost nearly $15.3 million next year, a 2.72 percent increase compared to the current school year.
Counseling will cost more than $1.3 million, up 4.09 percent, and guidance and attendance expenses will be about $1.5 million, a 2.75 percent increase, she said, noting both of those budget lines items are expected to increase due to contractual salary increases.
Her preliminary spending plan has also allocated $1.3 million for extra curricular activities and athletics, a .58 percent increase.
The school board will continue its budget discussions on March 19, when Ms. Carney is expected to give a presentation on the district’s revenue stream and the projected tax levy for the next school year.
