The South Colonie Central School District Board of Education approved a date for the district’s annual bus vote at a meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
The vote in which taxpayers of the district will be able to decide whether or not the district can replace and purchase new buses will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
This year, the district is proposing to purchase five 66-passenger conventional buseses at $107,500 each; one 20-passenger Type A Van at $49,500; and one 12-passenger/two-wheelchair bus at $70,000.
The total amount of the buses is $657,000, though the district would get $28,000 in trade-ins for the buses it is retiring, dropping the total to $629,000.
The estimated tax rate increase associated with the buses, which would be paid off over five years, is $0.024 per $1,000 of assessed value for residential properties in Colonie; $0.015 for residential properties in Niskayuna; and $0.0196 for residential properties in Guilderland. For commercial properties, the estimated tax rate increase per $1,000 of assessed value would be $0.025 in Colonie; $0.016 in Niskayuna; and $0.020 in Guilderland. Parts of the district span over Niskayuna and Guilderland.
Last year, the bus proposition was approved by district taxpayers in a 893 to 868 vote.
For more on this story, check back at www.spotlightnews.com, or read the Wednesday, Aug. 19 print edition of the Colonie Spotlight.`