This is in response to Quentin Walsh’s letter in the May 27 edition of the News. In that letter, Mr. Walsh praised past boards, and Finance Committee chair Stan Katz in particular, for holding WW-P’s per-pupil costs to average annual increases of 2 percent during the 2002-2003 to 2008-2009 school years. However, in his zeal to criticize the current board, he made a very basic finance mistake.
He compared the 2010-2011 budgeted per pupil cost against the prior year’s actual expenses to publish a misleading 4.2 percent increase. This is not a legitimate comparison. Since a school district is not permitted to increase taxes mid-year, a prudent board will provide some contingency in its budget for the upcoming year. This permits the district to absorb unexpected cost increases without being forced to cancel programs mid-year. Unspent money is returned to the taxpayers in the form of reduced local tax levy in the subsequent years.
In recent years, WW-P’s actual costs have come in 4 to 6 percent below budget. This is why comparing one year’s actual costs to the following year’s budgeted costs is guaranteed to produce a distorted result.
Since the 2010-2011 school year does not close until June 30, actual cost figures are not yet available. However, had Mr. Walsh made a budget-to-budget comparison, he would have found that 2010-2011 per pupil cost is only $99 above the 2008-2009 per pupil cost for which he gives Mr. Katz major accolades. That is a two-year total increase of less than 1 percent, or less than 1/2 percent per year.
Anthony Fleres
Finance Committee Chair,
Board of Education
