Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School administrators are taking steps to keep the high school budget level with last year: extensive cuts to department supply budgets, a significant decrease in heating fuel costs and the elimination of salary increases in administration are all hallmarks of the draft $16.5 million budget.

But anticipated reductions in state revenues and reimbursements mean the assessed portion of the budget (about $13 million paid by the six Island towns) is still about five per cent higher than last year.

The operating budget was discussed at a meeting of the high school budget subcommittee Monday morning.

In the current working draft, the general supply budget for all high school departments will be cut 20 per cent, resulting in savings of almost $62,000. The draft also calls for cuts in individual department supplies, including physical education equipment, music supplies, and STAR program supplies. Office supplies for guidance, the school nurse, and the principal’s office will also be cut 20 per cent.

Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss said the school has entered into a new contract with R.M. Packer for heating oil that he expects to produce savings of at least $27,000.

Savings from the elimination of administrative salary increases total $58,000.

Even so, total expenses are expected to be up by more than $500,000 due mainly to decreased revenue and reimbursement from the state.

“This operating expense budget is up, and the total expense budget is up . . . based on revenue shortfall,” said Mr. Weiss.

“We are monitoring on almost a daily basis any revenue changes that we might come across,” added regional high school principal Stephen Nixon.

“The most recent word we’ve heard is that it’s unlikely that Chapter 70 [state aid funds] would be cut. But we should anticipate cuts in circuit breaker and charter school reimbursement,” said Dr. Weiss. The high school is now expecting to receive close to $3.5 million in revenue and reimbursements in 2011, down almost $500,000 from the amount budgeted for 2010.

Circuit breaker funding is state aid for special education programming. The high school pays out tuition money each year for charter school students, and charter school reimbursement is money paid by the state to reimburse the high school for a portion of the cost.

District committee member Susan Parker urged town finance committee members to consider the fact that the high school committee has no control over state revenue cuts. “I think it’s important for the new finance committee people especially to understand the impact of charter school reimbursement,” she said. “We’re talking about 44 students at the charter school who are really a part of this budget . . . That looks like one of the areas that is going to be cut. This is costing us around a half million dollars. And people need to understand that when they’re asking us to cut back, or be at zero [per cent increase from 2010 to 2011], that we have no control over this area.”

The committee is concerned that cutbacks may affect programming. Already, the superintendent’s shared services budget has called for cuts to arts and enrichment programs that would affect all Island students. “If we cut our programs too much then we end up sometimes losing students that would be here because of that special program,” said Ms. Parker. “That’s another $16,000 out the door for every child.”

Committee member Robert Tankard agreed. “We all know that showing us the lowest dollars does not provide us with the best educational opportunities,” he said. “I realize we’re in crisis time . . . but we can’t tear down what we’ve built over the last 20 or 30 years. We have to be very conscious of what we do at this table.”

Mr. Nixon concluded: “We’re trying to create a budget that is not going to set ourselves up for failure somewhere down the road.”

The budget subcommittee for the high school will meet again in November; a public hearing on the budget is set for Nov. 30. The high school committee will vote to certify the budget at its Dec. 7 meeting.