Doing More With Less

This story is part of a nationwide Patch series probing the economy's effect on local schools.

Despite the current economic climate, the Port Washington Union Free School District is holding its own, according to Superintendent Dr. Geoffrey Gordon.

In fact, school was barely in session when the district announced its 10 new National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists – slightly more than neighboring Manhasset High School, and more than three times as many as Roslyn High School, though nearly half as many as Great Neck South High School.

Still, that's not to say Port Washington hasn't seen its share of struggles. In 2005, for instance, the community narrowly rejected the school budget, and the district spent a year on an austerity budget. In 2010, the district made dollar cuts in the budget from specific areas, said Mary Callahan, assistant superintendent of business. Once people retired or resigned, the district evaluated what it could restore with the dollar savings from those personnel changes, she said.

This year, the district is operating with a budget of $127,093,245 – that's only a 1.97 percent increase from the previous year. Annual increases of the district's operating budget saw a five-year downward spiral, echoing the nation's economic decline. For the 2007-08 academic year, voters approved a 5.4 percent increase over the previous year's budget. Each subsequent year saw a steady reduction in the increase: 4.9 percent for the 2008-09 school year, down to a 2.3 percent increase for the following year.

State contributions have been fairly consistent in recent history. For example, 5.68 percent of the current budget is funded by state aid, versus 5.9 percent in 2009, and 5.6 percent in 2005, according to Callahan. More than 91 percent of this year's budget is made up by property taxes, 1.86 percent by local revenue and .83 percent from district savings.

Meanwhile, back in March, the district's teachers agreed to a contract in which they receive a zero increase in base salary during their first year with no retroactive pay raise for the 2009-10 school year. In addition, they agreed to  cut compensation for miscellaneous activities, saving the district an estimated $60,000. 

Yet despite the economic climate, class sizes remain stable districtwide. Extracurricular clubs, at least at the middle and high school level, and other programs are flourishing. And there is hope that elementary school clubs, which were eliminated during austerity, will be brought back. 

Port Washington receives outside recognition for district achievements –not just for top students, but across the board, Gordon said.

"On behalf of both our students and community, the Port Washington School District works very hard to balance educational excellence with fiscal prudence," Gordon noted. "When The New York Times referred to Port in a Metropolitan Section front page article as a 'Powerhouse District,' they built on our increasing student participation in college level courses, our rising Advanced Placement test scores even as we expanded opportunity for all students to earn success, and our universal research programs for all students including our nationally ranked Intel semifinalists."

He added: "This past year, with careful attrition and rollover savings, we were able to maintain all student programs yet bring in the budget at one of the Nassau County lower budget-to-budget percentages of 1.97 percent.  Our goal as always is to provide the best opportunity for students to earn success, build the best home-school partnership anywhere, and continue to average $3,000 to $5,000 less in per pupil costs than most of our North Shore comparable districts."

As for school enrollments, Gordon, during the September school board meeting said that Port Washington is something of an anomaly in the region.

"Enrollments have decreased in Nassau County districts," Gordon said. "They're down by more than 20,000 students."  

In Port Washington, however, enrollment numbers are stable, said Dr. Kathleen Mooney, assistant superintendent for Human Resources and General Administration. And despite the low budget increase, the district has managed to maintain its targeted class size. 

In Port Washington, the elementary school class size policy calls for 18 maximum in Pre-K, 21 maximum from grades K through 2, and 24 maximum in grades 3 through 5. The middle school policy calls for 26 maximum in grades 6 through 8, and at the high school, 28 in grades 9 through 12.

The district is continuing to stay within its class size policy, "with very few sections slightly over," Mooney pointed out. 

As for extra-curricular activities, "Fortunately, we have been able to keep all programs for students, and by reducing [the number of] teachers through attrition even with a steady enrollment, we are looking forward to a very positive year in the school district," Mooney noted just days before school opened.

Still, Christine Vasilev, president of the Port Washington Teachers Association, hopes for the reinstatement of elementary school clubs, which have widespread support, she said. "I know that this is a priority for parents, teachers, administrators and the Board of Education," she said. "We are looking at ways to bring them back."

Meanwhile, the athletics program boasts steady growth, Gordon said. He looked at 2001 as an example, when the district saw 990 students participating in interscholastic sports. In 2009, there were 1,500 participants. "This year there are 900 out for fall sports alone," Gordon said.

Gordon referred to this time as an "athletic renaissance" in the community, where the "emphasis is on academics." He pointed out that in the 2008-09 school year, Schreiber received a Schools of Distinction award by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, as every varsity program in the high school was named a New York State Scholar Athlete team. 

"We are reallocating existing dollars so the kids get the programs," Gordon said, adding that equestrian and rowing clubs may soon join the mix. "Every single program that students want are in place."