Budget Passes With 1.36% Tax Levy Increase
by Alex Brooks
The final version of the Budget for the 2019-20 school year was approved by the Hoosick Falls School board at its April 18 meeting. It calls for total spending of $23,305,428, which is an increase of about $28,000, or 0.1%. The tax levy of $9,690,742 is 1.36% more than this year, an increase of $130,026. State aid for operating expenses increased slightly from the Governor’s budget to the final budget, from $11,415,500 to 11,480,655. This is $572,196 more than the current year, an increase of 5.2%. The District also budgeted a slightly higher number for “miscellaneous revenue” because of rising interest rates, which also helped to keep the tax levy down. School Superintendent Ken Facin thanked Business Administrator Emily Sanders for all her work on the budget, and for bringing it in at the level of tax levy increase requested by the Board. He said she is “an outstanding CFO,” and he said, “We are fortunate to have her.”
The District plans to purchase one 65 passenger bus, one 30 passenger bus, and a 7 passenger 4 wheel drive Suburban. These new vehicles will cost $230,000, but the purchase has no impact on the tax levy, because 80% of it is paid by State reimbursement, and the 20% of it paid by local funds will come from an existing bus reserve fund.
A Public Hearing on the budget will be held at the school on Tuesday, May 14 at 6 pm. The budget vote will be held on Tuesday May 21 from 9 am to 9 pm. Also on the ballot that day will be three School Board seats. Current School Board members Andrew Beaty, Rachel Boisvert, and Joe Patire are all running for re-election unopposed.
Harvard Study
Facin said Harvard is planning a study of 30 rural schools in New York State, and has requested that Hoosick Falls put in an application to participate. The National Center for Rural Education Research Networks at Harvard, launching this year, will set up a network of 30 rural New York schools to apply the “Proving Ground” continuous improvement model to “the pressing challenges of chronic absenteeism, college readiness, and college enrollment.” Proving Ground begins its work with each district by analyzing the district’s historical data and conducting interviews with district and school staff. Through this process, it helps the district uncover key issues and trends that contribute to the challenge it seeks to address. It then helps the District design and implement solutions, and measures the results. Overall, the idea is to “learn to use new and better evidence to make decisions about how to invest resources and improve student achievement.”
The Districts that will participate have not yet been chosen, but Hoosick Falls has put in its application and has high hopes of being included in the program.
Changes to STAR Program
Superintendent Facin said revisions to the STAR program were part of the budget package that was passed last month by the State legislature. The current exemption program is now closed to new applicants. In its place is a program in which the School District collects the full tax and then you get a rebate check from the State. If you already have a STAR exemption and your income is less than $250,000, you can continue to get the exemption, but you will not get the annual increase in the STAR benefit (said to be up to 2% annually). To get that you have to switch to the new rebate program. If your income is $250,000 or more, you can no longer get the exemption as in previous years – you must sign up for the new rebate check program. Find details on the website of the NYS Dept. of Taxation and Finance, or check with your local assessor.
Superintendent Facin said although this program applies exclusively to school taxes, the Hoosick Falls School District did not do this – it was done by New York State.
Board Forum
At the Board Forum, Joe Patire said his kids went on a field trip to Philadelphia and had a wonderful experience, but he had heard of other students at HFCS who said they couldn’t go on that trip because they couldn’t afford to pay for it, and he was troubled by that. The Board then had a discussion about fundraising to pay for the cost of field trips in which several members of the Board expressed the hope that every student could have the opportunity to go on school field trips, and a committee was formed to discuss how to make that happen. Board members Joe Patire and Jackie Houghton volunteered to be on it, and they will meet with High School Principal Pat Dailey, with the goal that every kid can go on field trips if they want to, regardless of ability to pay.
Other Matters
Business Administrator Emily Sanders said a meeting with the architects for the Capital Project is scheduled for May 1, and there will be regular meetings from now on, to develop all the details of the Capital Project.
The Board agreed to split the cost of an appraisal of the Curtis Lumber property with the Town of Hoosick after the owners of that property filed a tax certiorari proceeding seeking a valuation that the District finds unacceptably low. The appraisal will cost $15,000, so the District agreed to pay $7,500.
The Board approved an additional instructional period of English as a New Language (ENL) for both Margaret Sharkey and Amy Graziane. High School Principal Pat Dailey said a year ago the District had one student taking ENL instruction, and now it has 9. Facin these are the children of agricultural workers on local farms, and the families are very supportive of education, and “We welcome them.”
The Board approved the Varsity Baseball team’s trip to Cooperstown (a few JV players are going also) on May 3 and 4 to play a scrimmage on Doubleday Field and visit the Baseball Hall of Fame.