2008-09 budget proposal reflects district's commitment to students, taxpayers

The Voorheesville Board of Education has demonstrated its commitment to fiscal responsibility by developing a budget proposal that calls for lower spending than would be allowed under a contingency budget.  The board plans to adopt a final version of the budget at its April 7 meeting.

The board's 2008-09 budget proposal is $21,662,438, up 2.8 percent, or $589,337, over the 2007-08 budget. This proposed budget is $276,432 under the state-legislated contingency cap.

The projected tax levy is $14,679,863, up 2.31 percent, or $331,348, over the current levy.

Superintendent Linda Langevin said board members kept the district's taxpayers in mind as they devised a budget that provides first-rate educational opportunities for students.

"The school district's primary responsibility is to educate the students, and this proposal will enable us to do just that," Langevin said. "However, board members are taxpayers themselves, and they fully understand the financial pressures that families face today. At a time when the cost of fuel and other goods and services is increasing rapidly, the board has shown it has the ability to restrain costs."

The above total spending figure does not include $189,000, which would be used to buy one large and two small buses.  The voters will consider that proposition separately from the budget proposal.

The board is also deciding whether to place two other propositions before the voters on May 20.  The first proposition will ask the voters for use of fund balance to offset the school lunch fund deficit.

The second proposition would ask voters to decide if the board terms should be reduced from five years to four years.

Both of these propositions will be decided at the March 24 Board meeting.

The budget vote and school board elections are scheduled for Tuesday, May 20.

For more information about the 2008-09 budget proposal, click on the links below or call 765-3313, x101.

• March 10, 2008 budget presentation
  The 2008-09 budget proposal is lower than the amount the district would be allowed to spend under a contingency budget.

• March 3, 2008 budget presentation
  Includes information on total proposed spending.

• February 11, 2008 budget presentation
  Includes information on shared services that maximize state aid.

• February 4, 2008 budget presentation
  Includes 2008-09 elementary school enrollment projections, the district's special education budget proposal, and other staffing information.

• January 28, 2008 budget presentation
  Includes 2008-09 budget proposals for operations and maintenance, transportation, and the central/business offices.

• 2008-09 budget development calendar
  Includes a list of topics the board will discuss at each meeting.