Cazenovia school district taxpayers could see 13-percent increase in school taxes due to current proposed budget cuts at the state level. But Superintendent Bob Dubik doesn’t want to see that happen. “It’s certainly not going to be 13 percent,” Dubik said. Instead, he and the board will work to ensure the tax increase will be an amount that they feel is fiscally responsible. Governor David Paterson’s proposed budget would mean an 11 percent decrease in state funding for the school. This decrease, combined with a regular budgetary growth, would lead to a $1.8 million budget gap. Last year’s federal stimulus money offset a similar cut, allowing the school to adopt a budget with a zero-percent tax increase. For now, the final state budget is unknown, Dubik said. “We can’t begin to guess.” Until the numbers from the state are finalized, the board will base everything on the governor’s numbers, planning for the worst. In order to reduce cuts, the solution appears to be cuts across the board, including the cuts to programs and staff. Dubik said they hope to cut about $475,000 from the budget. Besides pinching every possible penny within various departments, bigger cuts will have to be made to meet that goal. This includes the possibility of removing faculty and staff positions. There have been no final decisions, and the board is still looking for community input. The next school board meeting is at 6:30 p.m. March 22. Board of Education meetings are held in the Board of Education Conference Room in the Cazenovia Middle School.