Mt. Pleasant School Board Incumbents Win; Budget Passes
In one of the few contested board of education races in the area, two Mount Pleasant School District incumbents were re-elected Tuesday night and the proposed $55.75 million 2014-15 budget was approved.
Trustee Laurie Donato received 652 votes and board Vice President Eric Schulze collected 527 votes to retain their seats, defeating first-time candidate Edward Barnes. Barnes received 453 votes.
The budget was approved by voters 550-372. The spending plan increases the tax lev 3.7 percent while the tax rate will rise 3.85 percent. It maintains current class sizes and calls for the hiring of up to five additional teachers.
Following the vote, Schulze, elected to his second three-year term, said he was “very excited.” He said residents supported the budget because it was within the state-mandated tax cap and residents understood that school officials are trying to improve special education programs and provide additional assistance for students with the hiring of math specialists.
“That really, in my opinion, made the people come out and vote yes,” he said. “We’re continuing to grow instead of cutting.”
Donato, who earned her third term on the board, said she was happy about her re-election because “we’re going to continue the excellent work we’re dong. We’re going to get the (capital projects) bond proposal to be the best it could be and we’re going to do the best we can for the kids in this community.”
Donato said the approved spending plan was “a very wise budget. I don’t think there was any fluff in it. And I think the people here are very concerned about the education of the kids and they’re supporting the programs.”
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Susan Guiney said she was pleased with the outcome of the budget vote.
“It was a decent margin,” she said. “And I think our community has been very supportive of our schools over the past several years and they’re continuing to show their support.”
Guiney said there was little controversy about this year’s budget with the district under the tax cap and the provisions of the state’s new tax freeze in effect.
“For school districts that come in under the tax cap and for those households that have an income of under $500,000 per year, those individuals will receive a rebate check in the amount of money that their taxes would increase with this current school budget,” Guiney said.
