OSWEGO – Phase III of the Oswego City School District’s 2023-24 proposed budget was the main topic of discussion during last night’s Board of Education meeting, Tuesday, Jan. 17.
During the last two BOE meetings, the first two phases of the proposed budget were discussed, with last night’s meeting covering the administrative portion of the budget and the costs associated with it. OCSD Superintendent Dr. Mathis Calvin III spoke about the overall budget goals which include these specifications:
- Fiscally sound – not excessive to taxpayers
- Flexible – provides for flexibility within budget codes
- Foolproof – provides for emergencies should they occur
- Flowing – has enough cash flow available in case state aid is withheld
- Alignment – our budget will be aligned to the district’s strategic plan and considers long term prospective
The Administrative portion of the budget incorporates many divisions within the district including the following:
| Board of Education | Fiscal Agent | School Association Dues |
| District Clerk | Legal | Assessments on School Property |
| District Meeting | Personnel | BOCES Administrative Costs |
| Chief School Administrator | Records Management | Curriculum Development & Supervision |
| Business Administration | Security | Supervision Special Programs |
| Auditing | Central Storeroom | Supervision Regular School |
| Treasurer | Central Mailing | In-Service Training |
| Tax Collector | Central Printing | |
| Purchasing | Central Data Processing |
“So, when we think about the Administrative Budget, people have asked, “Well, what’s in that portion?” Calvin said. “Well, all these items that are listed here are what make up the Administrative Budget. So, a lot of people think it’s just the administration. It isn’t as you can see – there’s a plethora of information that goes into this portion of the budget.”
The overall projected budget summery for the 2023-24 year comes in at $9,483,190.00, an increase of $215,840 from the 2022-23 budget of $9,267,350. For a complete breakdown of each budget item, please click here.
Board member Pamela Dowd added a suggestion to increase police officer presence in each of the school district buildings instead of a select few SRO personnel moving from building to building on specific days.
“I would like to propose that the district look into getting at least a security officer if not an SRO in every single building that we have,” Dowd said. “That would be an additional cost, so…just thinking that we need bodies in every building, not floaters.”
Because of the sensitive nature of this discussion, the board moved to Executive Session to further discuss the issue, marking a time-frame to present the discussion openly at a future board meeting.
Also discussed and passed during the meeting was the approval of a donation from the Minetto Home and School Association (HAS) to support a new playground in the amount of $116,678.53.
“I’d just like to say kudos to Minetto Home and School Association,” Dowd said. “It’s not easy to raise five dollars let alone $116,000. It has taken a lot of years and a lot of effort by some very busy people just reaching out again, and again, and again. So, kudos to the Minetto Home and School Association for their effort in fundraising for their playground.”
Dr. Lisa Glidden heartily agreed; “Yes, that’s really quite impressive.”
All items on last night’s agenda were unanimously passed. To see the full agenda, please click here. All BOE meetings are held the first and third Tuesdays of every month, the next meeting to be held on February 7 at 5:00 p.m. All meetings are live-streamed and can be viewed on the district’s WBUC YouTube channel.
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