The vote for the 2012-2013 school year is about four and a half months away, but Brewster administrators have already begun budget talks. 

At the last Board of Education (BOE) meeting, administrators ran through this presentation, entitled "Property Tax Cap, Chapter 97 of the laws of 2011: So Now What?" It's posted on the district's budget page.

The document, which is made up of 20 slides, provides a basic breakdown of Brewster's school spending in 2004-2005 versus 2010-2011. It states that teachers' salaries are 70 percent of the total district salaries, and a pie chart from last year shows that about 80 percent of spending went to salaries and benefits. 

When it comes time for the BOE to adopt a budget for the 2012-2013 school year, trustees have two options, according to the document. The first is to "Propose a budget requiring a tax levy less than the maximum tax levy limit prescribed by law," which would require a majority vote, and the second is to "Propose a budget requiring a tax levy greater than the maximum tax levy limit," which requires a 60-percent majority.

One of the takeaway messages from the presentation? "Confusion will abound." Three slides are dedicated to "communication challenges" and identifying how said confusion will come about. At one point in the slideshow, school officials note: "New York State has a tax cap, not a '2-percent tax cap.' The property tax cap limits the school district levy, NOT the individual tax bill of resident taxpayers."

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