A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
FORT COVINGTON – The Salmon River Central School District will ask voters in May to approve a 2022-23 school budget that represents a decrease in spending and no tax levy increase.
The proposal would spend $33,625,827, down $713,927 or 2.1%, from 2021-22.
The tax levy also won’t change. The new budget would use $1,094,585 from their fund balance.
State aid to the school district is dropping $639,621. Expenses largely out of the district’s control in the proposed budget include contractual salary increases, health insurance and retirement costs, debt service costs and the cost of utilities, diesel, electricity, propane and other fuel.
The tax levy for next year will be $1,957,568, the same as last year. The estimated tax rate will be $8.51 per $1,000 of assessed home value. That means the tax bill for an assessed home value of $50,000 will pay $425.50 and the bill on a property assessed at $100,000 would pay $851.
The district has remained under the tax cap for the past 11 years.
A presentation from Superintendent of Schools Dr. Stanley Harper said the proposed budget will have the district maintaining smaller class sizes, Advanced Placement courses and academic intervention services.
Voting on the budget will be open to qualified district voters on May 17 from noon to 8 p.m. in the Salmon River board room on their main campus.
Voters will be asked to vote for two Board of Education members and to approve a bus purchase.
Incumbents Gary Collette and Jason Brockway, as well as newcomer Michelle Smoke, are running for two five-year terms.
The district is also asking for approval to buy four new 66-passenger school buses at a cost not to exceed $500,000 to keep up with their bus replacement plan. The purchase will have a $9,000 budget impact after state aid gets factored in, Harper’s presentation said.
The board of education will hold a virtual public hearing on the proposed budget on May 4, livestreamed over the district’s Facebook page.
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