In a December press conference, Governor Paterson said,
that on average, 71 percent of school costs are administrative. The
fact is, that the average cost of all personnel in any given
district is about 70 percent - not surprising since schools are
basically in the "people business." In Fonda-Fultonville, costs for
personnel account for about 75 percent of the budget, with only 8.4
percent of that going toward administrative costs.
By state law, Fonda-Fultonville must report the breakdown
of expenditure in three components. The actual numbers for the
2009-10 school budget are:
Component
Approved Budget
Percent
Administrative
$2,166,283
8.44
Program
$19,351,327
75.36
Capital
$4,159,943
16.20
Total Budget
$25,677,553
100.00
Administrative—includes the salaries and
benefits of administrators and non-program clerical staff. Also,
school board costs, curriculum development, staff development, tax
collections, legal and auditing costs, central printing, central
data processing, general insurance, BOCES administrative costs,
research, planning, and evaluation.
Program—includes the salaries and benefits
of all teachers and staff delivering pupil services (health,
guidance, library and athletics). Also, textbooks, instructional
materials, equipment, extracurricular activities, BOCES program
costs, and all costs of the transportation program.
Capital—includes the salaries and benefits
of maintenance and custodial staff, plus debt service, bus
purchases, utilities, fire insurance, tax certiorari, and other
court-ordered expenses.
During these tough economic and political times, it
is important that you check the facts when you hear
things in the media or from others. Fonda-Fultonville Central School
District strives to be transparent and honest with its community
members. If you have any questions about the district's budget
breakdown, or anything else for that matter, please contact us
directly. We are the best, most accurate source of information.
The administration office is located in the high school at 112 Old
Johnstown Rd, P.O. Box 1501, Fonda, NY 12068-1501 and is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Please feel free to contact District Superintendent Dr. James
Hoffman at jhoffman@ffcsd.org
or 853-4415.
