Mansfield seeks more financial employees
Dunkirk Superintendent of Schools Michael Mansfield wants to add two business office employees.
Mansfield and his financial assistant, Debra McEvoy, offered an initial look at his proposed 2025-26 budget at the Dunkirk Board of Education meeting Tuesday.
“This budget is our first run-through,” Mansfield said. “I think we’re pretty accurate but there’s a lot of room for adjustments.”
The superintendent said, “There is a bump and it’s fairly significant” in finance department salaries. That increase is $173,000.
“Mrs. McAvoy and I have made it work without a business administrator for the last four years,” Mansfield said. “With the capital project coming on board, negotiations are coming up with the teachers association, (and) we have some retirements coming up in the office area, we really feel it’s time we invest in a business administrator.”
He also wants to add clerical support. “Right now, if anything happens to anyone in that office, we have no backup — and we have people that are approaching retirement age. So we put in here a clerical person as well, to start cross training the staff and to prepare for these departures that we anticipate are coming in the next year or two.”
McAvoy said the debt service section of the budget is a work in progress because district officials are unsure if they will have to do a Bond Anticipation Note for the capital project. She said that debt service “will be way more next year” due to the project.
Mansfield said the district is going to get about $1.7 million additional aid from the state in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal. However, he pointed out, “we don’t really know until the legislators get done, what the real final number will be.”
This week’s budget update covered the general fund, state aid and debt service. Athletics, BOCES, transportation, and a possible new capital reserve fund will be reviewed at the Feb. 11 board meeting.
The following meeting, on Feb. 25, will feature the annual visit of the district’s independent financial consultant Richard Timbs.