It’s that time of year again, where local school district voters will be faced with several important decisions at the polls.

Here is Part I of our school budget briefs. The remaining briefs will run in Friday’s Democrat.

Eldred

Residents in the Eldred Central School District will head to the polls on Tuesday, May 17 to vote on the proposed budget, two other resolutions and a position on the District’s Board of Education.

The proposed 2022-23 budget totals $18,987,402. This year’s proposed budget represents an increase of around 2.04 percent compared to last year’s adopted budget of $18,607,926.

“In addition to our fiscal responsibility, we have embarked upon a concerted effort to improve our academics. I have appreciated all the hard work everyone - teachers, staff and parents - have put into this undertaking to date,” said outgoing Superintendent Dr. John Morgano.

“This year the tax increase will be below one percent - much lower than we are permitted. We must balance the needs of the school district against the taxpayers’ ability to pay,” Morgano explained. “We have all worked hard to fund programs the community supports and to have funds put aside for any emergency that may occur.”

In addition to the budget, district residents will also vote to authorize the Board of Education of the Eldred Central School District to levy taxes inthe amount of $31,600 annually and to pay over to the Board of Trustees of the Sunshine Hall Free Library.

The final resolution district residents will vote on concerns whether the district will enter in a lease agreement to acquire twelve 66-passenger school buses and three 20-passenger school buses equipped with wheelchair access. The five year lease will come at a total cost not to exceed $1,500,000.

According to an information mailer sent out to district residents, Kirsten Smith is the only candidate who appears on the ballot. She is running for reelection to a five-year term on the Board of Education. Voters also have the option to write in a candidate.

In person voting will take place at the Junior- Senior High School from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. on May 17.

FALLSBURG

The Fallsburg Central School District is proposing a $52,506,954 budget for the 2022-23 school year, which is a 9.40 percent increase from last year.

The increase in the budget is due to the rise in inflation and the cost of supplies and goods that the school district uses.

However, the amount needed to be raised by taxes will be $19,409,282, a 1.67 decrease compared to the last budget.

“This is the lowest levy that has been put out to voters in at least the last two decades,” said Fallsburg Central School District Superintendent Dr. Ivan Katz.

Moreover, Dr. Katz said the lower school taxes were made possible by the Governor’s office and the legislature getting funds owed to the district “due to flawed budgeting formulas over past years.”

“The Board of Education budget committee has been working diligently with the administration and business office to put forward a budget that balances theneeds of the school district with the capacity of our taxpayers,” added Dr. Katz.

According to Dr. Katz, there will be no cuts at any level with the 2022-23 school budget. In fact, the district will be adding a second School Resource Officer and an Assistant Principal at the Fallsburg Junior-Senior High School.

Furthermore, the district’s budget will allow 11th and 12th-grade students to take SUNY Sullivan courses, and the district will also expand the dual-language programs at the elementary and junior-senior high schools.

“Students will have new opportunities to learn, attend college classes, and address social-emotional issues exacerbated by the pandemic,” Dr. Katz told the Democrat.

For the Fallsburg Board of Education (BOE), four seats are available, one of them being the seat held by BOE president Katherine Rappaport who resigned from her seat after being elected Fallsburg Town Supervisor.

For seat 2 Fiorella Muscia is seeking reelection, and for Seat 3, which Debra Barbiani last held, Regina McKenny-Snead is running.

For Seat 4, Arlene Hussey is seeking reelection and will be running against Colleen Picciotti.

The Fallsburg budget vote will be held on Tuesday, May 17 at the Fallsburg Junior-Senior High School, in the Board of Education Meeting Room, located at 115 Brickman Road in Fallsburg from 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.

MONTICELLO

The Monticello Central School District proposes a budget totaling $94,460,575 for the 2022-23 school year, a 3.5 percent increase from the previous budget.

The budget will levy $43,576,655 from property taxes which means there is no increase from the last budget’s levy, and Assistant Superintendent for Business for the Monticello Central School District, Lisa Failla, says that for the fifth year in a row, “taxpayers will fund less than half of the budget.”

The rest of the budget will be fulfilled by state aid. The 2023 New York State Budget included increased student aid, and the Monticello Central School district is seeing an 11 percent increase in support.

According to the district, the increase in the budget is due to the rise in inflation and expenses such as fuel, supplies, materials, and health care.

The district says some of the increase in the budget is due to salary increases and in order to stay competitive in the markets; the district said the increases “attract and keep the best employees in all areas.”

Furthermore, increased funding for field trips, student supplies and an early drop program will be added to the district budget. The budget will also help address learning loss with curriculum enhancements such as credit recovery programs, the addition of social studios and science, and increased professional development through speakers and workshops.

Moreover, additional faculty and staff are increasing the budget. Those staff included an AIS/Librarian at the Chase Elementary School, three teaching assistants at the Cooke Elementary School, and a local area network (LAN) technician to assist with the increased use of technology.

Also in the budget will be additional professional development along with increased positive behavior intervention support at the Chase Elementary School. For the Monticello Board of Education, three seats for three-year terms are up for grabs this budget season. Those seats are held by Lori Orestano-James, Stacey Sharoff and Jennifer Holmes, who are all seeking reelection.

For trustee seat 1, voters will choose between Orestano-James or Victoria Larusso.

For trustee seat 2, voters will choose between Sharoff or Ashley Rielly.

For trustee seat 3, voters will choose between Holmes, Mary Beth Bastone or Jimmy B. Crawley.

Residents can vote on the budget on May 17 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. at these locations: Thompson/Monticello – District #1, Robert J. Kaiser Middle School, 45 Breakey Avenue in Monticello; Bethel – District #2, Duggan Community Center, 3460 Route 55 in White Lake; Mamakating – District #3, Emma C. Chase School, 28 Pennsylvania Avenue in Wurtsboro; Rock Hill - District #4, Rock Hill Fire Department, 61 Glen Wild Road in Rock Hill; Forestburgh - District #5, Forestburgh Town Hall, 332 King Road in Forestburgh.

TRI-VALLEY

On Tuesday, May 17 Tri- Valley CSD residents will head to the polls to vote on the proposed $35,839,371 2022-23 budget, which represents a 1.9 percent increase from this year’s budget. The proposed tax levy increase is .80 percent.

Voters will also be weighing in on a proposition to establish a new Capital Reserve Fund.

“This is a conservative, forward-looking budget. Wehave some long-term budgetary issues that we need to address now to ensure the fiscal and programmatic future of the district,” said Tri-Valley Interim Superintendent Dr. William Silver. “A negative tax cap last year and anticipated for 2024-25 and 2025-26 budgets, plus the significant loss of state building aid in 2024-25, are some of the issues driving the budget.

“We want to maintain the variety and quality of our programs, and our small elementary class sizes, so we can meet the diverse needs of all our students,” Silver continued. “I think this proposed budget does that - protects our programs, provides the services and supports kids need in this post-COVID period, and is respectful of our taxpayers.”

 In addition to the budget and proposition votes, there are seven candidates vyingfor three at-large seats on the district’s board of education, as Keri-Ann Poley, Erin Mentnech and Joseph Colon are not seeking reelection.

The seven candidates vying for the three spots are: Corey Borden, Tammi Chaboty, George A Dean, Tim Dymond, Travis Hartman, Mary Tierney and Robert Vail Curry.

On May 17, district residents can vote in-person at the Main Downstairs Gymnasium (Tri-Valley CSD, 34 Moore Hill Road in Grahamsville) from 1-8 p.m.

Briefs compiled by Joseph Abraham, Patricio Robayo and Matt Shortall.