LATHAM — The North Colonie School District Board of Education will present a $107.2 million budget to voters on May 16 that increases spending by 1.8 percent and the tax rate by 0.94 percent.
If approved, the budget would cost the homeowner an additional 24 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. The owner of a median home assessed at $170,000 would pay an additional $40.27 a year.
On the expenditure side, the proposed budget would increase salaries to $61.6 million from $60.6 million, benefits would increase from $24.6 million to $24.7 million and contractual services such as utilities, BOCES and special education, would increase from $7.9 million to $8.7 million.
Debt service would decrease from $4.3 million to $3.2 million.
The district is projecting state aid will increase from $15.7 million to $16.3 million. If the budget is approved the district will also increase fund balance spending from $936,000 to $1 million.
The total tax levy will increase by about $2 million to $2.4 million.
Superintendent Joseph Corr said the district formulated the budget without having final state aid numbers and there was a modest increase in line with what was projected by district officials.
Also on the May 16 ballot is a proposition to bond $106.7 million to pay for a number of upgrades mainly to the elementary schools and Shaker Junior High School.
In December, voters denied the district’s desire to bond $196.4 million to fund sweeping renovations across the district.
If approved the project includes $36.3 million to convert the junior high school to a grade six to eight middle school, $22 million of renovations at the middle school, $18 million on the elementary schools, $13 million on site work including a new turf field and $4 million to enhance security throughout the district.
With the enhanced state aid that is currently available, the tax increase would be $21.32 on a home assessed at $170,000, without state aid it would be about $64.64 a year.
If voters don’t approve this proposition, the enhanced state aid disappears and the district cannot bring any bond proposal to voters until next December. Meanwhile, district officials maintain the problems of aged schools and a projected enrollment increase of some 1,000 students over the next decade would still exist.
There is also one open seat on the Board of Education.
