Chappaqua Schools Proposes Budget Exceeding Tax Cap By $2.5M

Chappaqua school officials offered a proposed 2024-25 budget that exceeds the tax cap by more than $2.5 million while funding three additional school resource officers and three more teachers to limit elementary-level class size.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christine Ackerman proposed a $142.3 million dollar budget for 2024-25 last Wednesday that would increase spending by 2.94 percent. It would also increase the levy by $4,714,630, or 3.94 percent, well over the 1.81 percent limit. It is the first time Chappaqua would go over the limit since the state adopted the 2 percent tax cap in 2011, said Assistant Superintendent for Business Joshua Culwell-Block.

If the board were to adopt a budget that exceeded the tax cap it would need support from 60 percent of the voters under state law, he said.

Ackerman said the basis for the decision to go over the cap is the support from some in the community to maintain class size in grades 2-4 at between 18 and 21 students per section, even though the district’s guidelines allow up for to 25 in a class at those grade levels.

Surveys conducted by the district have showed strong support for the smaller class sizes and for having a school resource officer in every school building, Ackerman said.

Also, the district wants to reduce its reliance on reserves to balance the budget. In her proposed spending plan for next year, Ackerman included $2 million in fund balance as opposed to $3.5 million in the current year’s budget.

“Our community feedback indicates support for additional school resource officers and smaller class sizes at the elementary level, and our budget has been tailored to address these priorities,” Ackerman said. We also are addressing concerns we have regarding the ongoing level of use of our fund balance to keep our budget tax cap compliant.”

However, the tentative numbers outlined in the proposal assume the district will have about $800,000 in foundation aid restored by the state, a fight that has been heating up in Albany as the legislature grapples with next year’s state budget.

“We are budgeting for the restoration of that state aide, even though right now we don’t have that on paper,” Culwell-Block said.

Officials did not release what the tax rate increase would be for taxpayers. Culwell-Block said municipalities are expected to release their equalization rate by Apr. 1, which would allow district to calculate the increase.

In addition to the state aid reduction, the growth factor within the district, a formula to calculate changes in assessable property, showed it was 1.0000, the lowest in the tax cap era, he said. If the growth factor exceeds 1, then it allows the district more leeway under the cap.

Last week, most of the Board of Education voiced support for at least trying to present a budget to voters in May that exceeds the cap and includes the extra officers and elementary school teachers.

Board member Ryan Kelsey said the proposed budget did not include other luxuries that would inflate expenditures.

“It’s important that the community also hears from us about items, how should I say it, that are on the district’s wish list but that never even made it into the conversation for a possible addition because we’re trying to be mindful of the fact that we’re asking for an override here,” Kelsey said.

Board President Hilary Grasso said she would like to go through the proposed budget carefully to see what the board can find, but that she supports the smaller class sizes in the elementary schools and an officer in each building. That could change if the state doesn’t restore the $800,000 in foundation aid, she said.

“If we’re not right about the state aid being restored then we’re going to have to have some hard conversations,” Grasso said. “So we may need to think about it in advance because I think where we stand with everything and no state aid is too high.”

Unless the $800,000 is recovered, and with no changes to the proposed plan, the tax levy would balloon to a 4.61 percent increase, a just over $5.5 million hike, Culwell-Block said.

The most skeptical board member was Vice President Caille Hwang, who called for Ackerman to present a third alternative when the board reconvenes. Ackerman also presented a tax cap-compliant budget at the limit that did not include the three officers and three teachers.

She said there are likely to be many community members who did not participate in the district’s surveys supporting an officer in each school and the smallest class sizes possible.

“I think my point is we’re asking a lot from our community, and we understand that,” Hwang said. “We’re all community members, right, and if we’re going to ask the community to go over and pay more money, I just don’t want it to be a type of conversation like this is what you asked for and this is what it’s going to cost.”

Several community members spoke at last Wednesday’s board meeting with differing views. Resident Tim McNamara, who has three children in the district and is an alumnus, said Chappaqua has always been a community that has never hesitated to invest in its schools. Before the tax cap, tax increases were far steeper and budgets were routinely approved.

“Yes, we’re looking at an override budget here, but compared to the massive increases in all of our costs, we’re really just, in my opinion, the override budget is really just trying to continue to provide a similar level of education that our district always has,” McNamara said.

But parent Beret Flom said spending more than $1 million for a police officer in every school doesn’t make sense and supports an alternative budget. She cited studies that children are more likely to die with armed in a school.

“The fact that we’re thinking about going over the tax cap to spend over $1 million on police officers is upsetting, especially when there’s decreases in spending in special ed,” she said.

Ackerman said she would present a third option during the upcoming work sessions. The board is scheduled to meet each of the next three Wednesdays.

If the public defeats a budget, a district has the option of putting up another proposal a month later or go to a contingency budget, which is the same spending level as the current year.