Patricia Damp, a third grade teacher at Lake Placid Elementary School, votes in the last school election and budget vote on May 16, 2023.
(Enterprise file photo — Lauren Yates)
Voters around the region will head to the polls today to weigh in on proposed school budgets, elect school board members and decide whether or not to approve propositions for new school buses, public library funding and updates at an athletic facility.
As federal coronavirus pandemic-era aid ends and a state foundation aid formula change narrowly missed the chopping block this fiscal year, every school district in the Enterprise’s coverage area is proposing to increase its tax levy, and some schools are facing staff cuts.
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Saranac Lake
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Saranac Lake Central School District’s polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the auditorium lobby of Saranac Lake High School, through door number five. On the ballot are a $37.3 million budget, five propositions and three school board seats.
The district’s proposed budget, which falls below the state-imposed tax cap, is $1.3 million, or 3.61%, more than this year’s $36 million budget. The budget would pull $2.37 million from unassigned fund balance and carries a tax levy of $24,492,938, with an estimated tax rate of around $8.20 per $1,000 in assessed value, 28 cents higher than this year’s tax rate. For a person with a $300,000 home in SLCSD, school taxes would be approximately $2,460, an increase of roughly $84.
Voters will weigh in on five ballot propositions. The first, if approved, would authorize the district to spend up to $335,000 from its unassigned fund balance to purchase two school buses and one van. The second, if approved, would allow the district to borrow up to $2.3 million to fund an energy performance contract and improve the district’s energy infrastructure. The third and fourth propositions, if approved, would convert SLHS’s grass field inside the track to an artificial turf field and install lighting, a new scoreboard, bleachers and a press box. According to budget documents, Proposition 3 would not affect tax rates, while Proposition 4 would increase tax rates between $4 to $8 per year, depending on a household’s exemptions. The fifth proposition, if approved, would provide $511,895 in funding to the Saranac Lake Free Library.
Seven candidates are running for three school board seats: incumbents Justin Garwood, Tori Thurston and Nancy Bernstein, and challengers Scott McKim, Patrick Dupree, Jackie Niederbuhl and Rebecca Law.
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Tupper Lake
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Tupper Lake Central School District’s polls are open from noon to 8 p.m. in the library of Tupper Lake Middle-High School. On the ballot are a $21.9 million budget, a bus proposition and two uncontested school board seats.
The district’s proposed budget, which falls below the state-imposed tax cap, is 2.08% lower than this year’s $22.3 million budget. Around half of the budget would be funded by taxes, with $250,000 pulled from unassigned fund balance. The proposed budget carries a tax levy of $10,383,450, an 8.75% increase from the current year but still under the state-imposed tax cap of 9.18%. In budget documents, district officials said that “roughly half” of the tax levy increase this year is due to the district’s capital improvement project approved by voters last October.
The district did not provide an exact estimated tax rate in budget documents but said in a May 6 newsletter that tax rates would likely increase by $1.37 per $1,000 in assessed value.
Approximately 17 to 20 jobs at TLCSD will be cut in the coming school year due to a $1.7 million budget deficit. Around $1 million of this deficit is the result of pandemic aid from the state and federal governments ending and the rest is the result of rising expenses and the district’s dwindling fund balance, district officials said in April.
If voters do not pass the budget, the district could schedule a re-vote in June, or it could revert to a contingency budget. A contingency budget has a tax levy that cannot be any higher than it is the current year. TLCSD Superintendent Russ Bartlett told the Enterprise in April this would result in another $800,000 in cuts, an 8.75% drop in revenue for the district, and consequently, more staff cuts.
A ballot proposition would, if approved, allow the district to purchase two 66-passenger school buses at an estimated cost of $341,164, minus trade-in value.
School board president Jane Whitmore and vice president Jason Rolley are both running for reelection uncontested.
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Lake Placid
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Lake Placid Central School District’s polls are open from 2 to 9 p.m. in the Lake Placid Elementary School Cafeteria and Wilmington Town Offices. On the ballot are a $22.4 million budget, two propositions and two uncontested school board seats.
The district’s proposed budget, which falls below the state-imposed tax cap, is 3% higher than this year’s $21.7 million budget. The majority of the budget would be funded by taxes, with $843,853 pulled from the district’s unassigned fund balance.
The proposed budget carries a tax levy of $17,757,146, a 3.38% increase from the current year but still under the state-imposed tax cap of 3.34%. District officials have said that the tax levy increase is a “direct result” of the board’s proposal to purchase school buses instead of leasing them.
Tax rates would be around $5.61 per $1,000 in assessed value in both North Elba and Wilmington, up from last year’s rate of $5.44 per $1,000 in assessed value in North Elba and down from $6.79 per $1,000 in assessed value in Wilmington. This means a person with a home assessed at $300,000 could expect to pay $1,683 in school taxes next year.
Voters will weigh in on two ballot propositions. The first, if approved, would authorize the school board to purchase two 68-passenger school buses and one 65-passenger school bus — all gas-powered. The buses would be fully paid off in five years at a cost no higher than $41,000 per bus per year. LPCSD currently leases its buses on three- to five-year cycles, spending about $105,000 yearly. With a state deadline to switch to exclusively purchasing electric buses on the horizon, the school board opted to move toward purchasing buses instead of leasing them as a way to operate with a hybrid fleet.
The second proposition, if approved, would increase Wilmington’s public library funding by $634, from $16,735 to $17,369.
LPCSD board member Colleen Locke is running for reelection, while board president Daniel Cash is not. Don Mellor, who is a retired school counselor who worked at the private Northwood School, is running uncontested for the open seat.
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Keene
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Keene Central School District’s polls are open from noon to 8 p.m. at Keene Central School. On the ballot are an $8.6 million budget — which requires a supermajority vote of 60% or more to pass — and one uncontested school board seat.
The district’s proposed budget, which exceeds the state-imposed tax cap, is 9.76% higher than this year’s $7.8 million budget. The majority of the budget would be funded by a tax levy of $7,155,709, an 8.91% increase from this year’s levy and over the state-imposed tax cap of 3.46%.
Tax rates would be around $12.79 per $1,000 in assessed value in the town of Keene, a $1.05 increase from this year, and around $8.64 per $1,000 in assessed value in the town of Jay, a decrease of 9 cents from this year. A person with a home assessed at $300,000 in Keene could expect to pay around $3,387 in school taxes, while a person with a $300,000 home in Jay would pay $2,592.
According to budget documents, the budget increase accounts for the addition of a full-time teaching position at KCS, the reinstatement of a part-time Spanish teacher position, a school bus purchase and anticipated increased expenses for universal Pre-K, health insurance and salaries.
KCSD board vice president Emily Reynolds Bergh is running for reelection uncontested.
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Long Lake
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Long Lake Central School District’s polls are open from 2 to 8 p.m. in the Long Lake Central School cafeteria. On the ballot are a $4.9 million budget and one school board seat.
The district’s proposed budget is 4.8% higher than this year’s $4.6 million budget. The majority of the budget would be funded by taxes. It carries a tax levy of $3,492,035, a 4.85% increase from this year, and after $259,074 in exclusions, comes in $5 under the state-imposed tax cap.
Tax rates next year are estimated at $4.61 per $1,000 in assessed value in Arietta, up 12 cents from $4.49 this year, and $5.77 per $1,000 in assessed value in Long Lake, up 16 cents from $5.61 this year. A person with a home assessed at $300,000 in Arietta could expect to pay around $1,383 in school taxes, while a person with a $300,000 home in Long Lake would pay $1,731.
Two candidates are running for one school board seat: Kent Stanton and Sarah Brown-Pratt.
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AuSable Valley
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AuSable Valley Central School District’s polls are open from noon to 9 p.m. in the AuSable Valley Middle-High School cafeteria. On the ballot are a $37.9 million budget and three school board seats.
The district’s proposed budget, which falls below the state-imposed tax cap, is 3.85% higher than this year’s $36.5 million budget. Just under half of the budget would be funded by taxes; the district proposes using $1,134,000 from its reserves and a combined more than $20 million in state and federal aid to fund the rest.
The budget carries a tax levy of $16,185,000, a 3.45% increase from this year and below the state-imposed tax cap of 3.51%. Tax rates would be around $13.92 per $1,000 in assessed value. A person in AVCSD with a $300,000 home could expect to pay around $4,176 in school taxes next year.
While AVCSD’s proposed budget is ultimately higher than this year’s, some areas would see spending decreases. The school library budget would be more than halved and the guidance and attendance budget would see an almost $100,000 reduction. School officials said these reductions are due to staff retirements.
Three school board seats are on the ballot. Incumbents Jenna Beauregard and Aubrey Bressett are both running for reelection unchallenged. The third seat is contested by candidates Lee Pray and Kenneth Bruno Jr.