Northern Westchester School Budgets Roundup

Local residents will go to the polls on May 15 to determine the fate of proposed 2012-13 school budgets and school board candidates.

CROTON-HARMON

Croton-Harmon’s $43.3 million represents a 1.08 percent decrease from the 2011-2012 budget. This was developed through a proposed tax levy increase of 0.61 percent.

The budget also represents a decrease in the percentage of the Croton-Harmon budget taken up by the fund balance — from 5.50 percent to 4.84 percent. This comes after a state audit accused the district of chronically over-budgeting in an effort to bolster its fund balance, a charge fiercely disputed by the Croton-Harmon School Board.

Incumbents Andrea Furey and Giuseppina Miller are running unopposed for two seats on the district’s board of trustees.

HENDRICK HUDSON

TheHendrick Hudson School District’s 2012-2013 budget remains in flux pending negotiations with the teachers’ union.

If the union agrees to accept a 0 percent pay increase this year, it would free up over $800,000 funds that could be used to spare jobs and restore other cuts to the budget. Barring a last-minute deal, though, the district is facing more than 20 position cuts to close the gap.

“The bottom line is dollars, and dollars save positions,” Superintendent Daniel McCann said.

Under the current budget proposal, the tax levy will increase by 1.72 percent in the town ofCortlandtand will decrease by 1.66 percent in the city ofPeekskill.

Incumbents Mary-Pat Briggi and Laurie Ryan are running unopposed for two seats on the district’s board of education.

LAKELAND

The Lakeland Board of Education unanimously approved its 2012-2013 school budget proposal Thursday night, as board members praised a plan they said manages to preserve programs in the face of the state’s new tax levy cap.

The $157.2 million budget was able to fall within the tax levy cap because a well-received retirement incentive plan freed up funds elsewhere in the budget, Superintendent George Stone said.

Thirteen employees took the incentive, Stone said.

Stone said the budget represents the lowest increase in more than 20 years and fortunately, comes with no impact on programming.

The only program to be cut is the middle school peer mediation program, which cost $16,000 to run and Stone said was axed not for cost reasons, but because it was ineffective.

Incumbents Carol Dobson, James Carroll and Brian Hugick are being challenged by newcomer Robert Rodriguez for three seats on the district’s board of education. Rodriguez, an assistant superintendent in another school district, said he’s running to give Latinos and other minorities a voice in an increasingly diverse school district.

OSSINING

Ossininghas requested a 2.53 percent increase in the tax levy. Though the tax levy cap is normally thought of as a 2 percent cap,Ossiningfound that it was able to request up to a 3.23 percent tax levy increase under the calculation formula for the state’s tax levy cap.

Ossininghopes to see about $2.5 million in budget savings by making the switch from a self-insured healthcare system to the NYSHIP healthcare plan, and plans to save about $900,000 by reducing its bus fleet and hiring bus monitors internally instead of through an outside company.

Despite that, the district will be scaling back library and textbook purchasing budgets to state-aid levels, denying teachers and other staff members budget dollars to go above and beyond what’s financially provided for by the state.

Board trustees and incumbents Dana Levenberg and Kimberly Case will square off against newcomer Sharon Abreau for two seats. Levenberg is the chief of staff for Assemblywoman Sandy Galef and has two sons in the district. Case has two children in the district and is a grant administrator at PaceUniversity’s Schoolof Education.

PEEKSKILL

The Peekskill City School District Board of Education has proposed a $74.3 million budget with a proposed budget-to-budget increase of 3.2 percent. The tax levy is slated to increase by 3.3 percent.

The spending plan utilizes $3.2 million from the district’s fund balance but a $734,000 gap remains. It is anticipated 23 positions in the district may have to be cut for next year and additional 10 positions over the next two years.

In Peekskill, four candidates — Lisa Aspinelli, Marcela Bobe, Darryl Footmon and Colin Smith — are running for two open board of education seats. Incumbent Bobe, 47, has lived in Peekskillsince 1996 and is the mother of two daughters currently at PeekskillHigh School. She’s a native of Argentinaand an expert in finance. The other three candidates are newcomers to seeking a seat on the board.

SOMERS

Somers has proposed a budget-to-budget increase of $907,598, which represents an increase of 1.13 percent. This comes through a projected 2 percent tax levy increase, which falls within the tax levy cap.

The projected tax rate increase for Somers is 3.94 percent, which stems from a 1.9 percent loss in assessed value within the school district.

Newcomers Michael D’Anna and Richard Wagner will challenge incumbent Sarena Meyer for two spots on the district’s board of education. D’Anna is running on a platform of financial expertise, stemming from his job as a global corporate banking relationship manager. He has two children in the district. Meyer is a technology and business strategist at IBM with three children who have gone through the district or are currently enrolled in it. She has served on the Somers Board of Education since 2006.

YORKTOWN

The Yorktown Board of Education used more than $1.3 million from its fund balance to counter the effects of the 1.15 percent budget-to-budget increase.  The $92.17 million budget falls below the mandated tax cap.

“Although the budget process continues to be a very rigorous experience, made even more challenging with Governor Cuomo’s required tax levy cap, sour greatest priority will always be providing a high-quality and well-rounded educational experience for the students of Yorktown, with the least financial impact on our community,” Board President Jackie Carbone said. “We are pleased to be able to return approximately $1.3 million to help reduce taxes in our community.”

The district’s budget is below the allowable tax levy cap by almost $1 million.

While adhering to the 2 percent tax levy cap with the allowable exclusions, the associated tax levy increase is 2.23 percent, resulting in a tax rate increase for the town ofYorktownof 2.31 percent and 3.7 percent for Cortlandt.New Castleresidents will have a 1.97 percent decrease.

Incumbents Carbone and Christine Montero are running unopposed for two seats on the district’s board of education.