White Plains School Budget Passes Easily, Fewer Than 1,000 Voted
With fewer than 1,000 residents voting, the White Plains School budget totaling $193.4 million was easily passed May 21, with 692 yes votes and 186 no votes. Board members Sheryl Brady (727 votes) and Charles Norris (700 votes) were re-elected for another three-year term.
The 2013-14 budget represents an increase of $4.578 million in the spending plan and a 2.42 percent increase in the budget total over last year. The property tax levy of $162,914,780 represents 84.2 percent of total revenues. For the average homeowner this represents an increase of about $265.
At the same time State Aid increased $14,574,470 over last year, however, state aid has not yet returned to levels received in 2008-09, which was $1.3 million higher.
The largest change in the budget from 2012-13 relates to the New York State Teacher Retirement System resulting in a $2.1 million increase to employee benefits (25.1 percent of total budget expenditures). Despite this increase, the elementary school class size will be maintained at an average of less than 22 students per classroom, an important consideration for the board of education.
