ELLENVILLE – After the crazy weather postponed the first stage of the Ellenville Central School District's (ECSD) budget meetings, the board regrouped this past Tuesday evening to begin moving the process forward. Board members and administrators heard presentations on the various departments' financial situations, with each providing a preliminary outline of the 2010-11 bottom line.

The first to speak was Stuart Mattey, the district business administrator, who presented a Power Point slideshow on the overall budget situation. While Mattey's presentation lacked the budget doom and gloom seen in other local districts, the picture he painted is far from rosy. Mattey explained that the district would be looking at a potential cut in state aid that would amount to approximately $1.8 million for the next school year. With the ECSD budget being $46.5 million, this would mean a potential cut of 4.4 percent. Closing this gap, he said, could mean a tax hike of approximately 6.7 percent. Mattey then outlined the district's planning priorities over the next year.

"This year we really need to focus on what makes the district tick, reflection on district goals, building requirements, and the burden on the taxpayer — all very important things," Mattey said.

He also talked about looking for ways that the district could utilize in a more efficient manner the resources it currently has.

"Can we do things more efficiently?" Mattey asked.

ECSD Superintendent Lisa Wiles said after the meeting that the board and the administration are working to find new areas that can be made leaner.

"The board is taking a very close look at all of the various buildings' department budgets," Wiles said. "We're trying to see where we are efficient, where we can become more efficient, what savings we've realized by certain initiatives."

Wiles said that one area that has seen a reduced cost is in the area of buildings and grounds. As a result of the district's campaign to reduce energy costs, the district has spent significantly less in this area.

"We've been doing a lot of work on this over the years," Wiles said.

Wiles stressed, however, that these meetings on the school budget are in their earliest stages. As such, the numbers that were presented at Tuesday's meeting are likely to change somewhat as the process moves forward.

But there can be no doubt that tough choices could be looming. If the current budget numbers stay as is, then the district will have to look for other areas to trim. Wiles also indicated that the unstable political situation in Albany could mean that the district might have to shift gears — as it has already recently done after the departure of former Governor Eliot Spitzer.

"It really is impacting what we do here," she said.

Wiles did say, however, that the district, in at least one respect, is ahead of the game in that it had planned for major cuts last year, and therefore already had a plan of action that they are now in the process of revising. Most of this aid was restored, thankfully, by the stimulus bill, so the plans were never put into action. The state having already spent its 2011 appropriation of stimulus funds, federal intervention isn't a possibility this year, according to Wiles.

"If the foundation aid [from the state] stays flat, we're going to be looking at personnel," she said, meaning that the idea of layoffs could be on the table in the near future.

The next budget meeting is scheduled for March 9, at 6 p.m., in the Ellenville High School Media Center. Members of the public are encouraged to attend.