Thanks Shannon. Um, when looking at revenues, the line for charter reimbursement, does that match what I see on the cherry seat and the difference? And so, could you explain the difference of it? It's significant enough. It's $400,000 difference that it's why. >> Yes. the the cherry tree historically um for what the charter revenue would be and for what the charter assessment would be never matches or is close to being what actually happens. Um so it's it's a bit of a false number for us to use that um as as what we think we would receive. Um so the the better way to look at it in my opinion is we have a sheet to um actually track um the students and by grade level and um it's it's a projection tool that we use to to determine how much we think we'll pay um and how much we think we'll receive.
And all of a sudden everybody in the room looks like a hero. But the taxpayers of Garfield don't want to hear political theater, they want answers. Parents in Garfield already know the reality because they see it every day. Students in the classrooms sit without proper air conditioning or heat. Teachers buy supplies with their own money just so kids can learn. Buildings that need real investment instead of temporary fixes. So, let me be very clear about something. Garfield students should never be the ones paying for the price of poor planning. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Balancing a budget at expense of the students is not leadership. And here's another concern the community is starting to talk about. We're seeing school districts all around us failing into massive deficits. And the people in Garfield are asking a very fair question, are we going to be the next one?
And charter's interesting because the first year you receive 100 um% reimbursement. the second year that student is attending is 60% reimbursement and then goes down to 40%. So it's kind of like this um waterfall effect and we have a an actual cell um document that we use for that projection rather than following what the chair does or provides. Um so then I have I have a follow-up request on charter when you produce the overall report if you would do a charter section that would show actuals for the last five the four years before this um student caps and net because one part is the reimbursement. So I think the assessment is in the expense line called other and I'm doing it for the public also to understand this is a there's a net outflow on the cherry sheet of almost $2 million you know for FY27 I'd have to go back to the other years.
Because that's exactly what happens when problems are ignored for too long. The people of Garfield are hard working families, support their schools, they pay their taxes, they deserve honesty, they deserve transparency, and that's why I'm running. I'm running to bring accountability to every dollar spent. I'm running to make sure teachers have the tools that they need. I'm running to make sure that every decision made in the district starts with one simple principle, Garfield students first. Garfield is a proud city, the city of champions, and it deserves a school system that lives up to the name. Thank you. >> Thank you. Mr. Chairman, can I just clarify something? I know Mr. Gasser is going to go nuts right now, but I I cuz it's important cuz I I I think one of the things that I found here was that um again, no one's fault, but I I I think that this process maybe was never really been clarified to the to the city.
Um so I think it's it's useful information for everyone to have. to my and and then if the initial generation sheet isn't accurate, it would be good for us to see what we originally had in the budget for, you know, because if it comes in at higher, it's very helpful, you know, does that go into reserve funds or cash flow. So, it's just a it's a big enough difference that it would be worth tracking. Thank you. Sure. >> Hi Shannon. I was just wondering what the date um you used for the enrollment truth projections were because I think you're expecting one in February. >> Um the date of what I'm sorry >> the charter school enrollments. So, I have not actually received so I've been emailing the state for the Q2 report of the specific actual for FY26 and they're currently moving to a new system um called CHAMP and not on the security portal.
So, the technical review process when you send it for um review to the county superintendent, um I know it it it does seem like uh theater sometimes when it Right, but you you can't go after you send it to the county, you can't now say, "Oh, we we forgot. We need to increase taxes the other way." So, you have to come in and balance your budget. No one is balancing a budget without it being high. It's the same even in your own house, right? You It's So, so the next 2 weeks is where you scrub and you and you do all this stuff. So, it's almost everywhere lower. So, I know there's maybe that perception, but I I think people have said it too many times since I've been here. Um and I'm not saying that because this gentleman got up, but I'm saying I I I think we need to kind of stop that now because it's important that we understand that the amount of time that all of us spent Saturdays, Sundays um getting to this number when the original number 4 days ago was 840 45 845 dollars a house.
Um and so I've been quite annoying to get those actual. So I had to just go on like everybody else and take what the preliminary estimate on the DESIE's website is. Um, I would have much preferred to have the actual enrollment though. >> Is that does that answer your question? >> Yes. >> Thanks, Shannon. Are there any further clarifying questions? >> No. >> Thank you, Shannon. If we could go back to page 18 of the budget book. >> Yep. >> This time under expense accounts. Yep. >> Um, two questions. Um, although they're similar. The, um, increases for special education, other programs, and central administration. Do you anticipate the same level of increase for the following year? >> Um, it's really hard to tell in terms of special education because it's all dependent on student need. Um and we do have um poss possibly up to three residential placements at the region for special education.
Okay? So, again, trust me, this I'm not even comfortable with this number. I think it should be higher right now. Um but I think half the people up here would have killed me if I said that uh couple days ago. Um so, just want to be clear on the technical review part. That was it. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Tomko. Any other public comments? >> Marlena Zawatska, 67 Morris Ave, Garfield. So, I personally, probably not the best opinion, I don't mind the 5% increase because you guys got to get your done. What I do mind is always blaming it's the teachers. We need to cut the teachers. We need to cut their health insurance. You guys hired 58 new hires since August to now, that's $3,766,000. You have 27 of them making over 70k while still teachers here do not make that. So, I understand you need to raise taxes.
Um so it's just really difficult to know I but if I had to guess I would say yes in terms of special ed um for other programs which is our tourist charter and vote um I have we have seen a trend of increase over the last few years. So I I don't think that we would see a decrease at this point. Um but also difficult to answer if somehow students magically come back to the district and from choicing out and from charter uh that would be great. Uh but I I I don't know the answer to that. um and central administration. I think we won't see as large of an increase because we're right now we're aligning with the increase for um the audits, the increase for our new um HR platform. We do we I did take an average of the last three years for our legal fees.
I understand 5% 6 I get that. But, it's always the teachers at fault. You have consultants for like everything. You have some, you know, our favorite person back, $15,000 a consultant. Another consultant, um I don't know if I could say the name, but Alan Rado Consultants. George A. Cohan Associates. Why do we need constant consultants if they It's little money, like 15, 30,000, whatever, but that adds up. And if you need consultants to help you work, maybe you should fire the people hire up that can't do their job alone where you constantly need consultants. You guys are putting like such a bad image for the teachers with the lead teachers, professional development, like as if they suck. Look at your tech department. They're still paying for Real Time cuz they couldn't transfer everything in time for PowerSchool. I don't understand you guys stay with Real Time or do PowerSchool or fire the person that can't do their job.
Um if those tend to come back down, I it could possibly be a decrease. Um but I don't think I don't know that we'll see increase as high because we've taken into account um some of like we've increased the the some of the budget lines to align more with what we've actually been spending and they're lower due to the increase that had been increased in the past if that makes sense. And then one other question under expense accounts there is a significant reduction in contingency in the reserves over 25%. But that the lines over the last few years are wildly different. Uh could you help us understand better what this category is and what you anticipate going forward? >> Yeah. So the contingencies and reserves um that's where um we would have like a bucket for degree changes because those by contract um if a if a staff member does have a degree change and they and they switch lanes um of that sort, they're entitled to a higher salary.
So, that's all. I'm not complaining about the tax increase. Probably all of you are mad at me, but I don't care. I get it. Make our school better, but don't blame the teachers, the classrooms, the whatever. And you're not going to cut teachers. You have All the classes are overcrowded already. Who are you going to cut? You can't do that. So, stop threatening them. That's it. >> Thank you. Any other public comments? >> Most of you know me. Lee Discafani, 136 Morris Ave. I worked in this district for 30 years, coached 37 years in this district. First of all, number one, I got a problem when Mr. Tomko tells that we are underfunded. The reason why we became an average district was because we were poor district, a blue collar district. And the state gave us funding for that. And then all of a sudden he's telling us now that we're underfunding what we should be with other schools?
So we do have a bucket for that. Um we do have a bucket in there for professional leave and maternity leave when staff go out. Um there are also merit awards per the union contracts that we provide. So there's a budget amount in there. Um it's also aware over the past few years when we had er where er funds were held or decreasing the budget by that amount. So it's always a a wonky number. Um there's I also put an an estimate for what I anticipate the region to receive in um rental income from the Amherst School District because the Chestnut Street Academy is um going to be within the middle school. We haven't finalized that contract, but I wanted to make sure that it was taken into account in this budget. Um, so that that is a negative number within the budget that you know kind of is is funky and changes um what the total is and why the difference is um from FY26 to FY27 why you see a decrease there.
That doesn't make sense. And remember, Board of Education, you know how much money we're spending a year? Like people think they look at $144 million. That's a 15th of a billion dollars every year. Every year we're paying that kind of money. For what? Since I worked in the district, standards have dropped, kids learning abilities have dropped. We haven't got We haven't been a better school district with all this money, preschool money. Kids going to preschool, they don't learn anything in the preschool. How does that benefit the district except becoming an overpriced daycare center? Now, Jack, I got a question for you with bank cap. Where do you guys come up with the money for bank cap? Like what I I I need a list of different things where you come up with it because as I was reading about bank cap, the number kind of is subjective.
>> One last question about that line. Could you explain why between fiscal year 24 and fiscal year 26 the amount budgeted for this line goes from $171 to 53,000? >> Um yes. So we don't actually when somebody so we save a bus like we save the money down below for what um for these contingencies that come up but when they're actually charged for instance if a staff member does have a lane change we're not going to charge that lane change at the bottom we charge it to the payroll line that they're um charged to and partly because when we do the end of year report we have to make sure that we report that person's salary in the right bucket um and same with the um merit awards, the merit awards that are in there, we move that at the end or they get paid out of the the person's salary line and we want to make sure that that is, you know, for the end of your reporting within the right bucket.
What you What you think or perceive. Last year Dr. Topko said, "Oh, I think health care was going to go up 36. Now he's saying 41% next year." They already projected 36% for next year. What are we doing about it? Electric costs, heating costs. We're having a new school. We're having a new school. Anybody take into consideration how much money that new school is going to cost the taxpayers of this town? You're going to keep number eight school. You're fixing the boiler there. Who's going to this new school? The 750 capacity. Who's going to this school? Like you guys don't understand. It's like It's like you're spending other people's money. And we're not getting any benefit for it. I just heard a couple days ago. Hundreds of Hundreds of thousands of dollars for teachers who were getting extra students in their classes? Are you kidding me?
When we reduce an account line um in the control accounts like what what was done in the past for ESSER, um we're just reducing the overall budget and that's an an easy place to put it. But then when we actually moved funds from the operating budget onto ESER, we had to move funds that are in different lines of the operating budget, not they're not sitting in this contingency spot. Um, so it's it's not that things actually get charged here. It's just where we put our contingencies and then the actual costs go to the appropriate line to ensure that we're um reporting it correctly at the end of the year. >> Thank you. Nancy Gman, love our finance committee. Um, when I looked at that document, I found it frustrating that the um percentage changes were left off. Um, was there a reason that happened and could those be uh included in the future?
I taught with 35 kids in my class. Are you I mean ridiculous. We have a football coach who's getting paid, not only as a football coach, but a weight room instructor over four over four quarters? Are you kidding me? And a girls golf Which wood doesn't have a girls golf coach? THEY HAVE ONE GOLF COACH. I mean what are we looking at, people? Substitute You said in the last meeting, substitute teachers increase of a million dollars. For substitute teachers who sit on their phones ALL DAY DURING CLASS? Are you kidding me? Guys, reality check. What's going on? A 15th of a billion dollars. If you really looked at yourselves, even the teachers know. We're not getting any better, we're getting worse. In September we were praising graduation rates. Oh, 9 or 299 out of 300 GRADUAL ONLY 30% PASSED THE TEST. So somebody So some finagle of a root work Oh, we only had one person that didn't graduate.
Because I found it very hard to interpret the information without doing all the calculations myself. >> Yes. Which document were you referring to? >> Uh, so the same one that Steve is is asking about the budget book. Um, and right now we're looking at page 18 as the >> right. So it just has the dollar amount and not the percentage, >> right? Um, which is very difficult to interpret what what the information was. >> Yep. >> Thank you. Great. >> Hi Shannon. Hope you're feeling better. Uh Lyn Grief from Ammerst Council and finance committee. Um, but have we ever done a comparison once we move to the new special ed model of doing higher special needs within schools as to what are we actually saving or compared to if we had tuition those students out that doesn't get into the philosophical issue of whether we'd like to keep them local.
Are you kidding me? AND YOU'RE PROUD OF THAT? I know Kirk's got me on the clock here, so I will I will end it real quick here, but I would also like First of all, I remember somebody when he first got to the district, Dr. Donkoh, somebody said that we're an untapped gold mine? I don't know who said that, but somebody around you said that Garfield's an untapped gold mine? What are we? Some guy What are we What are we What are we somebody's support group? And Jack, I would like a list, if I can, and I'll get back to you. I would like a list of every vendor, every consultant, and the money that they're getting. And I want to know if there's any kind of affiliation between people in this district and those vendors and those consultants. Thank you. Oh, by the way, Jack, how how many people do work in the business office?