Busing for Peekskill Elementary Students, Budget Approved
By Rick Pezzullo
A transportation proposition to only include busing next year for Peekskill School District students in kindergarten through fifth grade in public and private schools was approved by voters Tuesday night.
The controversial $1.765 million proposition passed 544 to 360. District officials had been considering asking voters to approve a proposition that would have provided busing for all students, including in the middle school and high school, who currently have to walk or be driven to school.
Busing next year will be provided for 1,123 elementary public school students and 192 private school students who live within 15 miles of the school they attend. Not covered will be private high school students who have received busing from the district for the last 20 years.
Meanwhile, the $83.65million budget, with a tax increase of 2.62%, was approved 582 to 320. Peekskill received $2.5 million more in state aid than it had anticipated. The additional funding will allow the district to offer new programs and services and add 27 new positions, including six part-time teacher aides, four reading teacher specialists, one bilingual secretary and a dance teacher for the middle school and high school.
In the Board of Education race for two seats, incumbents Colin Smith and Lisa Aspinall-Kellawon were reelected to new terms with 550 and 505 votes respectively. Ramen Fernandez finished third with 371 votes.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/