At their Nov. 4 meeting, the Briarcliff Manor Board of Education received reports from the three subcommittees of the district’s Long-Range Planning Committee, which was created to assist the board by providing valuable information to help shape the long-term fiscal and programmatic future of the Briarcliff Manor schools.
“With factors such as rising healthcare and mandated pensions costs effecting school budgets and our ability to comply with the New York State Tax Levy Cap, the Board felt it was important to research how “similar’ school districts are handling these types of challenges and examine our needs well in advance, rather than just on a year-to-year basis,” said Briarcliff Board of Education member and Committee Co-Chair Dina Brantman. “Our goal is to recognize savings where appropriate, explore ways to enhance our programs and look forward to our long-term budget challenges while developing a strategic plan for our district.”
Briarcliff’s Long-Range Planning Committee conducted programmatic and fiscal comparisons to Blind Brook, Edgemont and Irvington school districts– all of similar demographics, socioeconomic status, size in terms of area and facilities, and academic achievement. The programmatic comparison subcommittee looked at the academic and extracurricular opportunities the different districts offer, staffing models, and enrollment and then analyzed the similarities and differences between them. This included conversations with various district personnel.
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“For a school district of [Briarcliff’s] size, the number of advanced courses such as AP, honors and college-level classes and the exemplary opportunities we provide at all grade levels is exceptional,” added Ms. Brantman. “Our district should be proud of the opportunities we are providing for all of our students.”
The fiscal subcommittee compared different budgets and secured information from the districts as well as Putnam Northern Westchster BOCES. While Briarcliff spends more per pupil than the three other districts examined, the gap is narrowing and spending in Briarcliff has remained relatively flat in recent years. Their findings identified some areas these districts were able to offset operating costs; whether through new efficiencies such as staggering start times to reducing transportation costs, or by creating new revenue streams such as accepting more tuition students, something Briarcliff has done for years with Pocantico students.
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“You are always looking for ways to run more efficiently, particularly in areas that don’t directly affect academics, extracurriculars and important support services,” said Briarcliff Board of Education member and Committee Co-Chair Jonathan Satran.“If there are ways to save without negatively impacting the quality of those services, then they are worth looking into.”
While a great deal of fact-finding has been completed, acceptance of the reports marks an initial step for the entire Briarcliff Manor Board of Education, which will now carefully digest and discuss the findings, follow up where needed and work closely with central administration to begin developing an action plan. You can find the Long-Range Planning subcommittee presentations on the district homepage under Quick Links.
The Briarcliff Manor Board of Education would like to thank the Long-Range Planning Committee volunteers who have given many hours of their time to complete these reports and share the results with the Board and community.
