5150 - Contingency Budget

Policy: Contingency Budget	Policy Number: 5150
Date of Original Policy: 07/10/2002	Date Revision Adopted: 02/03/2021
Reviewed by Policy Committee: 01/13/2021	Date of Next Review: 05/22/2023
Replacement of Policy Number:

The Jordan-Elbridge District budget for any school year or any part of such budget or any proposition involving the expenditure of money for such school year, shall not be submitted for a vote of qualified voters of the District more than twice in any school year.

If the original proposed budget is not approved by District voters at the annual meeting and election, the Board has the option of either resubmitting the original or revised budget for voter approval at a special meeting held at a later date; or the Board may, at that point, adopts a contingency budget and levy a tax for teachers’ salaries and ordinary contingent expenses as enumerated in law.  If the Board decides to submit either the original or a revised budget to the voters for a second time, and the voters do not approve the second budget submittal, the Board shall adopt a contingency budget and levy a tax for those expenditures mandated pursuant to law and/or for those services necessary to maintain the educational program.

The contingency budget will include the sum necessary for teachers’ salaries (i.e. professional education positions certificated by the State Education Department which include teachers, administrators, teaching assistants, and professional specialist in the various areas of pupil personnel services) and ordinary contingent expenses as determined by the Board in accordance with law including, but not limited to, the purchase of library books and other instructional materials associated with the school library; and expenses incurred for interscholastic athletics, field trips and other extracurricular activities.  Ordinary contingent expenses include, but are not limited to, legal expenses incurred by the District; expenditures specifically authorized by statute; and other items necessary to maintain the educational program, preserve property, and assure the health and safety of students and staff.  As deemed necessary, school counsel may be consulted for review as those items considered to be ordinary contingent expenses prior to Board adoption of the contingency budget.

In accordance with law, the contingency budget will reflect the statutory expenditure limits imposed on the administrative component of the contingency budget as well as the total spending authorized in the overall contingency budget.

With regard to overall district spending, the contingency budget, as a whole, shall not result in a percentage increase in total spending over the District’s total spending under the school district budget for the prior year that exceed the lesser of:
a)    The result when one hundred twenty percent (120%) is multiplied by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), with the result rounded to two (2) decimal places  or
b)    Four percent (4%)

Additionally, the administrative component of the contingency budget shall not comprise a greater percentage of the contingency budget exclusive of the capital component than the lesser of:

a)    The percentage the administrative component had comprised in the prior year budget exclusive of the capital component; or
b)    The percentage the administrative component had comprised in the last proposed defeated budget exclusive of the capital component

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) to be used refers to the percentage that represents the average of the national consumer price indexes determined by the US Department of Labor for the twelve (12) month period proceeding January first of the current year.

In determining the increase in total expenses when computing the contingency budget percentage increase, the following expenditures shall be disregarded:

a)    Expenditures resulting from a tax certiorari proceeding
b)    Expenditures resulting from a court order or judgment against the School District
c)    Emergency expenditures that are certified by the Commissioner of Education as necessary as a result of damage to, or destruction of, a school building or school equipment
d)    Capital expenditures resulting for the construction, acquisition, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement of school facilities, including debt service and lease expenditures, subject to voter approval
e)    Expenditures in the contingency budget attributable to projected increases in public school enrollment, which may include increase attributable to the enrollment of student attend a pre-kindergarten program established in accordance with Education Law Section 3602-e
f)    Non-recurring expenditures in the prior year’s School District budget
g)    Expenditure of gifts and grants in aid and use of insurance proceeds

Regulations will be developed enumerating a sample list of expenditures which have been determined, pursuant to law, to constitute ordinary contingent expenses. However, the Board reserves the right, in accordance with its legal responsibility, to designate other items as ordinary contingent expenses as deemed necessary to maintain the educational program of the District, preserve property, and assure the health and safety of the students and staff.

Education Law Sections 2002, 2023, 2024. And 2601-a