P’ville Adopts $59.3M School Budget; Uncontested Race for Board of Ed
The Pleasantville Board of Education last week voted unanimously to adopt a 2023-24 school budget and send it to voters for approval next month.
The $59.3 million spending plan carries a 2.43 percent tax levy increase, about $4,000 below the allowable levy of $40,198,974, and represents a spending increase of $1.6 million over the current year.
“This budget is aligned with our mission, which calls us to empower our students to be lifelong learners, dynamic thinkers and compassionate citizens,” Pleasantville Superintendent of Schools Dr. Tina DeSa told the board before they voted.
Significant increases in next year’s budget include an additional $1 million for employee benefits and retirement funds, a $1.3 million increase for annual contractual salary raises and a $300,000 increase in utilities. The district will receive an additional $2.3 million in state foundation aid compared to the current year.
The budget supports additional personnel, including two teaching assistants at the K-4 Bedford Road School, a full-time psychologist and a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) counselor.
The three-year terms for Board of Education members Angela Vella and Jill Grossman are expiring and both have chosen not to run again. Vella was first elected to the Board of Education in 2014 and served as vice president in 2015-16 and president from 2016 to 2020.
Grossman, who won her seat in 2020 and has been president for the past year, said it was time to move on and focus on work and family, but expects to stay involved with the school and community.
“As a board member I’m really proud of the things the board has accomplished, such as passing the DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) resolution,” said Grossman. “During my three years on the board we’ve had to navigate COVID by supporting our superintendent, listening to the community to address their concerns while bringing students back to school as early and efficiently as possible.”
There are only two candidates running for the two seats that are up for election this year – John Vamossy and Lucas Cascardo. Vamossy ran unsuccessfully for the board in 2020 when four district residents were vying for two open seats.
“It’s a much different experience this time,” Vamossy said. “This is uncontested and I’m excited to contribute to the community and (make) an impact on the school district and the children.”
Vamossy was born and raised in Westchester and has lived in Pleasantville for 20 years. His three daughters are 14, 17 and 19 years old; the oldest is in college, one attends the middle school and the other is in high school.
Cascardo, a district resident for more than eight years, has two children at Pleasantville Middle School. An architect, Cascardo’s practice serves residential, commercial and health care markets.
Recently, he has participated as a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access Committee stakeholder for the district and currently is an equipment coordinator for Pleasantville WYSL/AYSO soccer and assists the middle school Garden Committee.
In the past, he was division coordinator as well as a coach with Pleasantville AYSO.
“I think issues relevant to our community is to continue to expand academic opportunities in our schools as well as increase parent engagement,” Cascardo said. “There could be a better mechanism to engage parents beyond e-mails, a way to reach out to parents whose kids are not yet in the school system and bring them into the fold.”
The new three-year terms begin on July 1.
The annual budget vote and board election is scheduled for Tuesday, May 16. Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the middle school multipurpose room.
For complete budget information, visit the district’s website at www.pleasantvilleschools.org.
Abby is a local journalist who has reported on breaking news for more than 20 years. She currently covers community issues in The Examiner as a full-time reporter and has written for the paper since its inception in 2007. Read more from Abby’s editor-author bio here. Read Abbys’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/ab-lub2019/
