By LINDA KELLETT

C-S-E News Staff

CANAJOHARIE — With the easing of restrictions on a formerly inaccessible special reserve fund, Canajoharie school officials last week found themselves with a little wiggle room in the district’s 2012-’13 budget. Applying some of the freed-up money, they rounded out the proposed $19.2 million spending plan that school board members unanimously approved Thursday night.

The $19,279,887 fiscal plan calls for the use of $468,942 in fund balance and has an estimated tax levy increase of 2.5 percent, which falls under the formula-based taxing limit established by the state.

In relation to the complex formula currently in use for that calculation, Director of Finance and Accounting Leah Schaffer told school board members, “The higher percentage that we pick now will give us a better starting point” for next year’s budget-making process.

In a brief overview of the spending proposal, District Superintendent Deborah Grimshaw noted that district officials have “held all costs that we can hold stable, stable; that the increases in health insurance and retirement are the pieces of this budget that are the increases, and it increases the budget 2.4 percent.”

Schaffer noted that 1.9 percent of that hike is due to an increase in all employee benefits. The reminder of the increase is related to contractual increases, she said.

“So, the majority of the increase is health insurance and ERS and TRS [non-instructional employees’ retirement and teachers’ retirement costs],” Schaffer said.

Pension costs are controlled by the state, however Grimshaw noted the district continues to explore health insurance options with the unions.

With regard to the amount of remaining fund balance, Grimshaw said district officials project having fund balance available for “three years out, if everything remains relatively stable or in a similar structure to what we have now ... And that’s if we do nothing else,” she added.

It was noted that about 58 percent of the district’s budget is derived from state aid; the remainder is generated through property taxes.

The public hearing on the proposed fiscal plan has been scheduled for Monday, May 7 at 7 p.m. The district election and budget vote will be held on Tuesday, May 15.