Douglas Adams has finally settled into the Ramapo School District, recently moving to a house in Montebello with his wife, Lisa, who is originally from Hillburn. A year ago this May, the Ramapo Central School Board hired Adams away from a smaller school district outside Little Rock, Arkansas to lead the Ramapo Central school system. But for Adams and family, it’s a sort of a homecoming.
A native of Clark Fork, Idaho, Adams graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at Westpoint, getting his start in education as a math teacher at Suffern High School in the mid-80s. From there, he went on to gain diverse and extensive expertise in education, gathering a passel of degrees along the way — an M.S. from Iona College, law degree from the University of Arkansas and LLM. degree (or specialized master’s in a specific area of study) from the University of Florida. The finishing touch was added in 2008 with a Doctor of Education degree in administration from the University of Arkansas’s College of Education.
“I’ve been here about nine months,” said Adams, whose spartan office at district headquarters in Hillburn, NY reflects his math and engineering background, or maybe the five years spent in the Army. Adams said his connections to the area make him that much more committed to helping steer the district through this time of receding revenues.
Although he moved from a smaller post with the South Conway County School District in Arkansas — with an enrollment of 2,400 students versus the approximately 4,700 in Ramapo Central — there are specific similarities in the systems that go right to the heart of Adams’ expertise.
“I wrote my dissertation on efficiency and effectiveness in public schools,” said Adams, whose superintendent tenure comes at a crucial period for Ramapo Central schools, just as the district faces cuts in state aid and property-tax caps, both measures sure to stem district revenues.
“We can’t be at the trough just arguing for more money. We have to be personally responsible and make sure that we’re as efficient as possible. For my doctorate, I studied efficiency,” Adams said. “I think it’s been helpful. We have to look at being effective and efficient. They’re not mutually exclusive.”
Adams inherited a budget system that regularly instituted 6% tax increases to cover the district’s rapidly growing program and service enhancements. Now with state levy caps in place, each school district must follow a state regulated formula that limits tax increases.
“Being new here, I look back at the history of this school district, other than this year, and see what the district has spent and budget-to-budget increases have averaged 6.4%,” Adams said. “I think right now we have ours down to a 3.34% budget-to-budget increase.” Adams said he would like to try and pare the budget increase number down to 3%.
So far, Adams has presented $1.3 million in budget reductions to the board.
“I don’t want my message to be one of panic,” said Adams. “We are diligently looking at everything to make sure that whatever tax dollars we receive, we’re going to use as efficiently and effectively as possible,” he said. “There may be changes, but they will be designed to make improvements.”
One cost efficiency Adams pointed to includes the district’s newly instituted energy performance reductions that involve investment in new technologies and equipment that will save on overall future district utility bills. The superintendent also mentioned a recent special education program restructuring that will save the district an additional $200,000. “It was something that we needed to do and we’re doing it — making it better how we serve that population,” he said.
Adams said Ramapo Schools have capped fuel costs at a 3% increase that hedges against creeping prices. That 3% increase in costs accounts for approximately half of the nearly $500,000 increase in district transportation costs. The district should also see significant cost savings through restructuring of transportation for sports teams — for example, using shuttle buses in some cases during the season instead of bigger, more costly buses.
Adams is focused on presenting the board with efficiencies and cost-saving choices that can be applied to future budget years. Once captured, they’re part of the system.
“I’m trying to get it down,” Adams said, regarding the budget-to-budget increase and thinking in terms of a district that hums along efficiently while providing a quality experience. “But I don’t know if I can get it there. I think we have to look at all of our expenditures in such a way — that we look at what are we investing in and what return do we expect on that investment.”
Adams displays genuine care and concern for the school district that gave him his start — the proverbial right man at the right time. “There are connections to this community,” he said. “My wife went through this school system — she’s a graduate of Suffern High School. Her father was a teacher here for 20-plus years and was an All-American athlete — actually from here in Hillburn. Her uncle was a principal in the system.”
The superintendent paused, perhaps to process the connections, eyes lighting up.
The Ramapo School Board holds the last in a series of open budget workshops Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. at district offices in Hillburn. The following documents are available for further school budget information at the district website: What You Should Know: The Property Tax Cap and What You Should Know: School Board Budget Terms.
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A Bloody Good Time — Suffern High School recently staged a rousing version of Stephen Sondheim’s classic thriller, Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Double The Fun — The celebrations seem to last forever when you’re on a winning stream. The Ramapo Central School Board recently recognized the state champion Suffern Boys Hockey team. So, did Suffern.
