Local residents over the age of 18 will be weighing in on the school district’s and library’s new budgets and board members at a Tuesday, May 20, vote.
Voters will cast their ballots at Bethlehem Central High School at 700 Delaware Ave. this year.
The school district is proposing an $84.77 million budget, which will result in a 3.79 percent tax levy increase for Bethlehem residents and a 4.9 percent increase for New Scotland residents.
Since the district adopted its budget in March, well before the April 1 deadline for the state budget, Assemblyman Tim Gordon, I-Bethlehem, was able to secure an additional $500,000 for the school with the support of state Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Delmar. The money was used to offset costs for the new Eagle Elementary School and lower the tax rate increase for residents by about a third of a percent for the year.
Residents will also be voting on a bus proposition not to exceed $1.36 million in order to purchase 18 new buses. The state will reimburse the district 64 percent of the total cost if the bus proposition is passed and there would be no tax impact on residents until next year.
The total budget adopted by the school represents a roughly 7.5 million increase over last year’s $77.2 million finalized budget.
School officials praised this year’s budget as being conservative and fiscally responsible in the face a tough economic climate and substantial capital projects like school renovations and the first new school built in the district in more than 50 years.
We think people should invest in an excellent school system, Board of Education President James Lytle, encouraging people to participate in a May 20 vote. `We believe it will be supported by a community very proud of its schools.`
Lytle also pointed out that it was the second year in a row that a citizen budget group has helped worked on the school budget as an indication of the community’s involvement and investment into the district.
Superintendent Les Loomis, who is retiring at the end of the school year, noted that this is the third year in a row that the district has kept the tax levy increase under 4 percent despite all of the economic hurdles in place.
In Bethlehem, the estimated school increase translates into $18.09 per $1,000 of assessed valued (a 69-cent increase), or $138 increase for a $200,000 home. In New Scotland, the estimated increase is $17.43 per $1,000 dollars of assessed value (a 3-cent increase), or a $6 increase for a $200,000 home.
An owner of a $400,000 home in Bethlehem will see a $276 tax increase and $12 in New Scotland if voters pass the budget.
If the budget is voted down, the state allows districts to make some cuts and re-propose a new budget to voters. If that vote fails, a bare-bones contingency budget will have to be in place and board members would have to make more cuts in order to keep the district operational costs in place.
`That would be damaging to the quality of our programs,` Loomis said at the meeting when asked what would happen if the budget was voted down.
In addition to voting on the budget and bus proposition, residents will be voting on three Board of Education members running for three open seats.
The candidates include one incumbent, current board vice president, James Dering, and two newcomers: Laura Ladd Bierman, who ran unsuccessfully last year, and Matt Downey.
Library vote
Although the school district and the Bethlehem Library are their own entities with their own boards and budgets, both will be on the ballot at the high school.
The Bethlehem Public Library is proposing a $3.47 million budget for the 2008-09 season and has two people running for two seats on its board.
The budget represents a 2.26 percent tax levy increase over last year’s, with a majority of the proposed budget ` $2.07 million ` for salaries.
Overall, the proposed budget has increased 2.1 percent over the current budget.
The estimated tax levy increase from the proposed library budget is $1.23 for Bethlehem residents and $1.21 for New Scotland residents. All of the library’s figures are based on $1,000 per assessed home value.
There are two candidates running for the library’s Board of Trustees.
John Sobiecki, who is currently on the board serving the unfinished term of a former member, and Nancy Smith will both be on the ballot on Tuesday, May 20.
Sobiecki is senior project director with Einhorn Yaffee Prescott Architecture and Engineering in Albany, and he was originally appointed to the board in 2006 to complete an unexpired term.
He is a member of the Historic Albany Foundation and the Eastern New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Sobiecki is actively involved in the community and has been a Bethlehem resident for 17 years.
Smith has been a school library media specialist in the Bethlehem Central School District since 1986. She has been an active member of the Elsmere parent-teacher association for 22 years and served on many district curriculum committees. She has been a strong advocate for the district’s school libraries during that time.
In 2006, she served on the library’s Plan of Service committee and is a 20-year resident of the town.
Voting on this year’s budgets will be held at Bethlehem Central High School ` not Bethlehem Central Middle School as in recent years ` in the school’s upper gym through the main entrance of the building.
The high school, located at 700 Delaware Ave., offers more parking and improved building access, according to Loomis. Voters will park in the Delaware Avenue parking lot and use the building’s main entrance, which faces Delaware Avenue.
There will be several activities taking place throughout the day at the school and any resident aged 18 or older can vote, regardless of their voter registration status.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20.“
