Superintendent to present preliminary Williamsville budget at February meeting
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

What "wish list" items the Williamsville Central School District can afford to buy for the 2007-08 school year will be recommended at the next School Board meeting.

(See editorial on page four)

Superintendent Howard Smith said he will have next year's preliminary budget ready for the Feb. 13 meeting.

"We will take the conversation from (the Jan. 9 board meeting) and input from administrators and put together the preliminary budget," he said.

During the Jan. 9 meeting, members of the the Board of Education talked at length on which items they would like the district to fund.

Most board members voiced their opinion for implementing a keyboarding program at the fifth-grade level.

Board Member Stephen Munschauer said enhancing the program would put the students and the district out in front by having computer keyboarding skills.

The board went back and forth on how much money should be spent on putting cameras on buses. The current proposal is $100,000 to place cameras on 25 vehicles.

"That is a tremendous amount of money, and I'm not sure for what," Board Member Ronald Shubert.

The district would have the option of installing fewer cameras than the 25 proposed. The total fleet consists of 72 buses.

"I wouldn't say we have regular ongoing problems. But there have been incidents on buses," Smith said about the need for cameras.

He added that some disciplinary action related to problems on buses has been taken, and this would be a proactive approach for the district to take.

"A camera could possibly deter kids who would act out," he said.

The cameras are mobile and could be moved to buses that experience more problems.

Considered major financial impact - program enhancement items, the district will decide what can fit into the budget. Currently the list for discussion includes:

+ $260,364 for long-term staffing considerations to address building enrollment variations, including a part-time librarian, part-time nurse, full-time computer teacher, part-time social worker, full-time counselor and part-time administrative assistant.

+ $198,198 for three full-time middle school counselors.

+ $128,232 for two full-time business teachers for keyboarding instruction for the fifth grade.

+ $100,000 for DVD video equipment on 25 buses.

+ $64,116 to establish a Mandarin Chinese level-one program at the high school level with one full-time teacher.

+ $55,000 for one electrician, recommended by the 2006 Facility Efficiency Study.

+ $30,000 for replacement of a 1986 service truck used for bus breakdowns.

+ $20,000 for a part-time grant writer or service contract to apply for federal and state grants.

"Its all part of a long-term plan, a vision, and we bring the items on board when we can," Smith said, adding that there is a balance between cost and feasibility.

The 2006-07 budget totaled $139.1 million.

The board also reviewed the tentative 2007-08 school calendar. Smith is proposing scheduling additional alternative days that would be used should the district run out of emergency days. Because more than a week of emergency days were used during the October storm, the district now has to hold regular attendance days during the spring break.

Next year, the district would have six emergency days available before taking back any vacation time.