Bedford BOE: Budget Talks Continue; Bilingual Education Report

A week after a proposed budget was unveiled that included sharp job and program cuts, Bedford Central board of education members will meet again tonight.

The school board will have a continued discussion for the proposed budget, which calls for cutting 30.9 jobs, roughly half of which will come from reducing teachers. The proposed budget also includes eliminating about half of the student clubs in Fox Lane High School and Fox Lane Middle School, and in cutting about half of modified sports.

The budget, as of last Wednesday, called for $3,884,000 in cuts, bringing it under the state-mandated tax levy cap, when the cap includes exemptions. The cap, which is technically 2 percent, is actually 3.37 percent for Bedford Central because of exemptions for some pension contribution costs and due to change in the local tax base. 

Also on the agenda is a presentation from the Bilingual Instruction Study Committee, which will give its recommendations to the school board for teaching in both English and Spanish. Mount Kisco Elementary School, which accompanying material notes has a majority-Hispanic student enrollment, would be the beneficiary of the proposed medium-term changes, which are eyed for full implementation at the school by the 2014-15 school year. 

The boards meeting starts at tonight 7:30 p.m., at Fox Lane Middle School. Click here for the agenda.