PORT BYRON - Every rising high school senior in the Port Byron Central School District accepted into the Cayuga-Onondaga Board of Educational Services' New Visions programs will be able to attend this year.

The board of education Wednesday decided they would rather tighten the district's financial belt and find money to send all nine students to one of five New Visions programs this September than deny them the hands-on opportunity the programs offer.

“As much as it hurts financially,” board member Melinda Quanbeck said, “we made a commitment to these kids by them being accepted. I think we should give them a chance to go.”

Students didn't know if they would be attending New Visions in the fall because Port Byron was short the nearly $9,000 in tuition per student - before state aid - to send them.

Superintendent Neil O'Brien said the BOCES budget operates differently than most other aspects of school finance in that the bill for the 2008-09 school year would not need to be paid until 2009-10.

On Oct. 1 of every year, BOCES conducts a census, counting the number of students who participate in both New Visions and in vocational education programs, he said. Using that number - for Port Byron, 54 in 2007 - BOCES determines how much each of the component school districts would have to pay the following year.

An error in Port Byron High School's guidance office allowed 69 students to receive acceptance letters from various BOCES programs, New Visions among them. Five students have since decided to drop out of the programs, leaving Port Byron with nine New Visions students to fund over-budget.

The money to fund these students will come from the district's fund balance. BOCES also pitched in by allowing the district to pay for the programs using current dollars instead of future dollars as a way to keep the district financially stable, O'Brien said.

While the board is not reneging on its promise to send these students to New Visions this year, members made clear financing BOCES programs in upcoming years will be a subject for the 2009-10 budget season.

“What we really need to do is really look at all of our BOCES services - and hopefully the other school districts would do the same,” President Ben Vitale said. “As we tighten our belts and get messages from Albany we don't like, BOCES will also have to tighten its belt.”

With a tough financial outlook looming - Gov. David Paterson this week said the state is officially in a recession - school districts like Port Byron are bracing for shrinking state aid packages this next budget season.

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net