Merrick Schools Talk Budget Preparation

Editor's Note: This article was written and submitted by Chris Boyle.

A presentation was given on the first draft of the proposed 2013-2014 budget for the Merrick School District.

So far, the District’s Instructional Budget clocks in at a total of $25,986,099, which represents an increase of 1.43 percent over last year’s Instructional Budget of $25,619,551.

In addition, the current proposed Pupil Services Budget represents a zero percent increase over the previous year’s, coming in again at $1,042,084 for the second year in a row.

However, Superintendent Palma was quick to point out that, despite the early success his administration has had in constructing next year’s budget, there’s still a lot of work to do before it is carefully shaped into its final, fiscally-responsible form.

“Up next is the non-instructional and facilities budget, which will be covered on March 5,” Palma said. “March 19, we will cover follow-up budget items, and by that point, we should know the costs of things such as health insurance and BOCES, and that’s when we’ll have a better picture of where we need to go to balance the budget.”

According to Palma, the Board will adopt the final budget on April 9, followed by a public hearing on May 7 and the final public vote on May 21.