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Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, March 2, 2016
School district presents 2016-17 draft budget
One specific goal in the coming year is to better
care for students who struggle emotionally and socially,
Padilla said. Students who suffer emotionally also suffer
academically, he noted. “You can’t separate the two, they
The Newburgh Enlarged City School District presentgo hand-in-hand,” Padilla said.
ed a draft of the 2016-2017 school budget at a public forum
“Currently we do not have guidance counselors at
last Wednesday. The fiscal plan proposes a half a percent
the elementary level,” said the superincrease in spending over the previous
intendent. “We want to put guidance
school year.
Community School Budget Forum
counselors in each of our elementary
“This is the draft budget,” said WHEN: Monday, March 14 at 5:30 p.m.
schools.”
Newburgh
schools
Assistant WHERE: Vails Gate School, located at
Padilla described unfunded state
Superintendent of Finance Mimi Heslin. 400 Old Forge Hill Road, New Windsor
mandates requiring the district to pay
“This is the start of our budget converout-of-pocket for English Language
sation.”
Learner-related programs as “unfair.”
The proposed general fund totals $258,169,216 - a
“Nonetheless, we are obligated to meet the require$1,252,947 increase over last year. The tax levy - what
ments for the state,” he said, estimating the cost to come
the district will have to raise through property taxes into full compliance with this mandate to be around $2.1
amounts to $111,880,150. This represents a 1.13 percent
million.
increase over the tax levy from the previous school year,
Literacy interventions in Kindergarten through grade
Heslin said.
two and special-education services are also significant
District revenues, made up largely of state aid and tax
expenses, he said. The district plans to also “invest in
revenue, are projected to be $255,064,086, leaving a sizable
middle schools” in the coming year, Padilla said.
budget gap. “We have a budget gap of $3.1 million,” said
The district will hold one more community budget
Heslin.
forum, scheduled for Monday, March 14 at Vails Gate
She pointed to a slide presentation showing several
School in New Windsor. The draft budget will again be
potential sources of funding that might serve to fill the
discussed at a Board of Education meeting on Tuesday,
gap. The list included increased state aid, money from
March 8.
the district’s fund balance, cuts in programs and aid from
The superintendent’s recommended budget will be
local legislators. “We’ve asked our legislators to help,”
presented on March 29. The school board’s budget adopHeslin said, including assemblymen Frank Skartados
tion deadline is April 20. The school district will hold a
and James Skoufis.
public hearing on the budget on May 10. The school budNewburgh Superintendent of Schools Roberto Padilla
get vote takes place on Tuesday, May 17.
explained the budget is “aligned to our strategic vision
Visit Newburghschools.org for meetings and budget
2020,” the district’s five-year strategic blueprint calling
information – click on the “Board of Ed” tab on the disfor multiple pathways to graduation, including non-tratrict homepage and then “16-17 Budget Information” on
ditional programs offered at NFA West in the fall.
the dropdown menu.
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
Woman’s body discovered in Plattekill, three charged
Three city of Newburgh residents were charged
Saturday with concealment of a human corpse in the
hamlet of Plattekill, after police were called to investigate the discovery of a woman’s body found early Friday
alongside a deserted stretch of New Unionville Road in
the hamlet of Plattekill.
The dead woman has been identified as Alexis Scanlon,
28, from the City of Newburgh.
New York State Police at Highland charged Angel
Delgado, 44; Kristen A. Green, 41; and Lauren A. Romano,
33, all residents of the City of Newburgh, with concealment of a human corpse, a felony, and conspiracy in the
sixth degree, a misdemeanor. According to a State Police
press release the three were arrested on Saturday, Feb. 27.
Scanlon died on Feb. 25, at the residence of Angel
Delgado Jr. in the City of Newburgh, police say.
On Friday, State Police at Highland were called at about
7 a.m. to investigate the death of an unidentified female
whose body had been found in a ditch on New Unionville
Road in the Ulster County hamlet of Plattekill. The body
was found about three-tenths of a mile east of PlattekillArdonia Road. The location is about two miles north of
the Orange County line.
An investigation was conducted by the Troop F Bureau
of Criminal Investigation, Major Crimes Unit, Forensic
Identification Unit, Computer Crimes Unit and the New
York State Intelligence Center, which ultimately identified the body. The City of Newburgh Police Department
also assisted with the investigation and the investigation
is still ongoing.
Delgado, Romano and Green were all processed at State
Police Highland and arraigned in the Town of Plattekill
Court. All three were subsequently remanded to the
Ulster County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash or $10,000 bond.
Delgado was released on $5,000 bond and the others
remain behind bars.
Man talked out of jumping off bridge
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