The BCS Budget And Board Vote

by Thaddeus Flint
The Berlin Central School District budget vote will be held Tuesday, May 21, at the Berlin Elementary School from 12 to 9 pm.
Voters will be able to cast their ballots either for or against the 2013-2014 budget of $17,861,948, which would be $423,000 more than the current year’s budget. The proposed increase to the tax levy is 1.95%.
[private]In comparison, neighboring districts show the following tax levies:
New Lebanon 0%
Hoosick Falls +2.67
Averill Park +2.99%
Chatham +3.6%
Brittonkill +4.94
Bus Purchase
Residents will also be able to vote on the purchase of a 66 passenger bus which would cost not more than $140,000.
Three Candidates For The Board
Finally, residents will get to vote on the people running for three open seats on the Berlin Central School District Board of Education. All three seats are three year terms.
What’s interesting about the School Board election this year is that it’s already over. Board Members John Nash, Bev Stewart and Alan Webster Jr. are not running for re-election. These three are known to residents as the “No” voters because they have continued to vote against a bond authorization which would fund a large repair project at the Elementary School, a project they see as fundamentally flawed.
Nash, Stewart and Webster Jr. were asked to comment on whether their refusal to run for re-election was decided together. Only Stewart chose to respond saying, “This was a not a collective decision between the three of us.” “I made the decision not to run again individually, based on what was best for my family,” added Stewart.
Since no other residents chose to run for a School Board seat, the new School Board members as of July 1 will be Rachel Finney from Stephentown, Jeffrey Paine from Grafton and Elizabeth Miller from Berlin. All three have already served terms on the Berlin School Board.
In 2011 Finney won a seat vacated by Board President John Green, who stepped down in November 2010. She beat Andrew Zlotnick of Petersburgh who then contested the election. Finney was replaced in 2012 by current Board Member Katie Fiske.
Miller served two terms and was replaced by Board President Jim Willis in 2011.
Paine served until he was beaten by Webster Jr. in 2010.[/private]