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School Budget, Board Votes Set For Tuesday In New York

WAMC Composite Image by Dave Lucas

New Yorkers on Tuesday will be voting on school budgets, propositions, and members of local boards of education.With the pandemic fading, voters will be able to cast ballots in person on Tuesday at their school district's designated polling places.

Foundation Aid from the state budget passed in April is helping districts bring back programs and services that were cut a year ago.

Adam Hotaling is assistant superintendent for business for the Troy City School District.

"We're pleased to present to the voters $115 million budget for next year with a 0% tax levy increase. And we're really able to do that with the support from the state budget. The legislature and governor passed a budget that is more fully funding Foundation Aid which helps schools like Troy and we're pleased with that and we've been fighting for that for many years and are glad that they're implementing that."

Voters in the Albany City School District are being asked to pass a $270.3 million budget that comes with a 0.95% tax levy increase and a $9.5 million increase in Foundation Aid.

Guilderland residents will vote on a $105 million budget proposal which carries a 1.89% spending increase over the current year and a 1.28% increase to the tax levy, which is at the district’s levy limit. Superintendent Marie Wiles:

"We are looking very much forward to having all of our children return back to school in person in the fall of 2021. This past year has been a real challenge for everyone. And we are hopeful that we will have the successful passage of our budget so that we can support the needs of our students when they return in the fall."

The Schenectady City School District is proposing a nearly $219 million budget , nearly a 7% increase over the current year’s that will add $3.6 million in programs and services while maintaining a flat tax levy.

North Colonie's budget proposal of nearly $125 million comes with a tax levy increase of 1.39%.

Superintendent David Perry says the South Colonie School District’s proposed $108 million spending plan would increase spending by less than 1 percent and taxes by about 1 percent.

"In addition to our budget, we also have a land acquisition vote scheduled for tomorrow, we are looking to purchase 57 acres in the village of Colonie, part of the town of Colonie for a future capital project that would involve the building of a new transportation facility and district office facility."

Marina Marcou-O’Malley is Policy and Operations Director for the Alliance For Quality Education. She says all of tomorrow's budgets are important and urges residents to get out and vote “yes.”

“Most school districts have put forward plans that address social emotional learning something that students are in dire need because of the COVID-19 pandemic and because of having two school years who, during which, students have not received the traditional instruction that they would typically have. Some were either in hybrid, some were in total virtual learning environments and some were in school, but for sure, they did not have the same kind of experience that they would in other years. So this school budget, this school budget this year, are very important because they allocate the increased foundation aid amounts that the state provided in this enacted budget with a commitment to fully fund it, which is going to bring a lot of operational funding for schools to hire back teachers and support personnel that will address all of these needs.”

Voters in most districts will be choosing school board members as well. Of particular note in Schenectady, longtime activist Jamaica Miles, the co-founder of All of Us, is running for school board.

Check with your local district for voting hours.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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