ROTTERDAM Mohonasen seeks more budget input Online questionnaire sent to residents BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net
Mohonasen officials are turning to the Internet in hopes of receiving more comment on the district’s budget. In December the school launched an online questionnaire as part of its outreach to residents before the budget process starts. District Superintendent Kathleen Spring hopes to use the survey to reach those who might not ordinarily give any input through the normal budget forums. “We have all these budget forums, but you don’t always feel you’re getting the pulse of what’s important to people,” she said Tuesday. Spring said more than 100 residents filled out the survey when it was first made available two weeks ago, and responses have trickled in. She hopes to tabulate the results before the board’s first open community forum, scheduled for Jan. 12. The eight-question survey asks basic questions, such as which areas of the school residents consider most important and if they would support a capital project, provided the state’s 95 percent building aid is still in place. The survey can be filled out anonymously, but offers an area where residents can provide their e-mail address. Spring said it’s especially important to get input this year, due to the decrease in state aid proposed in Gov. David Paterson’s state budget. Preliminary estimates suggest Mohonasen could face a $1.5 million decrease in state aid. With this anticipated reduction, Spring said the district could end up in a budgetary predicament similar to the one in 2006. At the time, the district was facing drastic staff cuts due to an estimated shortfall of about $700,000, caused in part by a large reduction in state aid. Spring said the 2009-2010 budget will likely include a number of cuts based on class sizes and staff positions lost to attrition. However, she said the district might need to consider cutting additional positions, “Staff is always the way to...........http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01003
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