Wednesday, May 21, 2014
All Sullivan budgets easily pass
Voters approved all the school district budget in Sullivan County Tuesday,
Roscoe and Tri-Valley were among the big winners. Their spending plans passed by about two-thirds of the vote, while the proposition to increase funding to the Roscoe Free Library won approval from a little more than half those who voted.
Livingston Manor and Monticello saw their budgets pass by almost a 2-to-1 ratio.
Monticello was one of the districts to watch, because Sullivan's largest district asked voters to approve $750,000 worth of security upgrades, which includes upgrading entrances at all of the schools.
While voters approved that proposition by almost a 2-to-1 margin, they didn't feel as strongly about the second proposition to borrow $550,000 to buy five or six new school buses. A little more than half of voters approved that plan.
Monticello's proposed $83 million budget doesn't include any job cuts, but it does propose using some state aid to restore about nine teaching jobs.
In the Pine Bush school district, where the budget passed by a wide margin, fears of a possible bloc of Hasidic voters in Bloomingburg - and the hope for fairer representation throughout the district that spans seven towns and three counties — led three of the four candidates to support the creation of zones to elect separate members of the Board of Education.
Yet the one candidate who took a moderate "wait and see'' stance, Town of Crawford police Sergeant Eric Meier was the top vote getter. Cara Robertson, who often campaigned with Meier, finished second.
"I took a very moderate position because that's what I feel," said Meier, a former school board member, "and I think the vote reflects that."
The creation of these zones has gained so much traction, Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther has been discussing its legality with the state education department. The Pine Bush Board of Education last week agreed to ask its four legislators to consider passing legislation to allow the creation of those election zones.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's new school property tax freeze provided added incentive for many districts to remain at or below their tax caps. In return, eligible property owners within the district are to receive modest school tax rebates this fall.
Statewide, only 23 out of 669 districts attempted to override their tax caps this year, including Valley Central and Tuxedo here in the mid-Hudson. While Valley Central's $92.4 million budget passed, Tuxedo's did not.
Tuxedo's nearly $16 million budget received 53 percent of voter approval, which would have been enough to get the spending plan passed if it had been below or at the tax cap.
A district can override its tax cap only if at least 60 percent of voters agree to it.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140521/NEWS/405210325/-1/NEWS
Roscoe and Tri-Valley were among the big winners. Their spending plans passed by about two-thirds of the vote, while the proposition to increase funding to the Roscoe Free Library won approval from a little more than half those who voted.
Livingston Manor and Monticello saw their budgets pass by almost a 2-to-1 ratio.
Monticello was one of the districts to watch, because Sullivan's largest district asked voters to approve $750,000 worth of security upgrades, which includes upgrading entrances at all of the schools.
While voters approved that proposition by almost a 2-to-1 margin, they didn't feel as strongly about the second proposition to borrow $550,000 to buy five or six new school buses. A little more than half of voters approved that plan.
Monticello's proposed $83 million budget doesn't include any job cuts, but it does propose using some state aid to restore about nine teaching jobs.
In the Pine Bush school district, where the budget passed by a wide margin, fears of a possible bloc of Hasidic voters in Bloomingburg - and the hope for fairer representation throughout the district that spans seven towns and three counties — led three of the four candidates to support the creation of zones to elect separate members of the Board of Education.
Yet the one candidate who took a moderate "wait and see'' stance, Town of Crawford police Sergeant Eric Meier was the top vote getter. Cara Robertson, who often campaigned with Meier, finished second.
"I took a very moderate position because that's what I feel," said Meier, a former school board member, "and I think the vote reflects that."
The creation of these zones has gained so much traction, Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther has been discussing its legality with the state education department. The Pine Bush Board of Education last week agreed to ask its four legislators to consider passing legislation to allow the creation of those election zones.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's new school property tax freeze provided added incentive for many districts to remain at or below their tax caps. In return, eligible property owners within the district are to receive modest school tax rebates this fall.
Statewide, only 23 out of 669 districts attempted to override their tax caps this year, including Valley Central and Tuxedo here in the mid-Hudson. While Valley Central's $92.4 million budget passed, Tuxedo's did not.
Tuxedo's nearly $16 million budget received 53 percent of voter approval, which would have been enough to get the spending plan passed if it had been below or at the tax cap.
A district can override its tax cap only if at least 60 percent of voters agree to it.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140521/NEWS/405210325/-1/NEWS
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