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Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, May 10, 2017
VC’s $101m budget
goes to the voters
By TED REMSNYDER
When taxpayers in the Valley
Central School District venture to the
voting booths on May 16, they’ll get the
opportunity to render their verdict on a
proposed $101,247,326 budget that stays
within the state tax cap while preserving
all current school programs and teaching
positions. The proposed 2017-2018 budget
comes in 2.75 percent higher than last
year’s total of $98,533,456, and the plan
includes a 2.69 percent tax levy increase.
This year’s budget vote will be held on
Tuesday, from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. in the
high school gymnasium.
The district initially presented a
proposed $101,614,723 spending plan last
month, but had to shave $367,397 off that
total when the late-arriving state budget
provided the district with less state aid
than anticipated. While the proposed
budget still adds a new tech teache r and
establishes special education classes at
the middle school, the district wasn’t
able to include everything on its wish
list once the state aid came in lighter
than expected. “There were a couple new
positions that we just weren’t able to
support in this year’s budget,” Valley
Central Superintendent John Xanthis
said. “We went to Plan B where we’ll
pick up some added things. We had to cut
and we were disappointed with the state
coming in with not a whole lot more. We
were pretty confident we would get more,
but that’s the way it is and we did our
best. I think the numbers are pretty good.
We’ve been out to our faculty and staff
and there hasn’t been any pushback.”
Valley Central will receive $37,214,178
in state aid next year, up $1,267,649 over
the 2016-2017 funding level. The district
will collect $59,161,047 in property taxes
this year and the proposed spending plan
employs $2,000,000 from the district’s
fund balance. While the state aid number
allowed the district less financial wiggle
room than the administration had hoped
for, they were still able to add some
important items to its budget proposal.
“One position that we got in there that
we really wanted is an added counselor
for Walden Elementary,” Xanthis said.
“We had talked about that last year and
we couldn’t do that. That was actually
our first priority. That was a key position,
because that school is working so hard
with children and their families and to
add another support person was critical
at this time.”
A pair of school board seats will
also be decided during Tuesday’s election,
with Board of Education President Sheila
Schwartz and newcomer Joe Bond both
running unopposed. Schwartz is up for
reelection for her second consecutive
three-year term, while Bond is expected
to claim the seat held by board member
Rod Freeman, who decided not to run for
a second term. “There’s a lot of positive
change going on and I’m very excited to
have John Xanthis here for the next three
years,” Schwartz said of her decision to
seek another term. “We’re doing a lot of
changes. We’re working on a five-year
plan, and we worked hard for the RFP (a
request for proposal) for the bus contract.
I really do enjoy it. I think budget-wise
the last couple of years we’ve been doing
better. We’ve been able to restore all the
things that we cut and I want to see us add
to the district.”
Bond, 50, has not previously served in
public office. The 45-year district resident
wants to provide an enhanced educational
experience for Valley Central pupils while
maintaining the fiscal stability of the
district. “I believe we have a good district
that I am proud to be a part of,” he said. “I
want to ensure that the current and future
children of our district receive the best
education possible. Serving on the board
would provide me with an opportunity to
contribute to my community.”
Without a competitive school board
race on the ballot this year, Xanthis hopes
that residents will still come out in strong
numbers to let their voices be heard
regarding the district’s budget proposal.
“I always say that this is our report card,”
the superintendent said. “If you think
you’ve had a good school year as a family,
I think the school community will come
out and base their vote on what their
experience has been. From the feedback
we get, day-to-day, we very seldom get
complaints. I think most of our families
are very happy. We see how they support
our schools and I think that’s a very
powerful message. We’re hoping that we
get a lot more ‘yes’ votes than ‘no’ votes.”
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