Batavia school budget to be aired
BATAVIA—The City School District is proposing a $39.9 million budget for 2009-2010 with a near-minimum property tax increase.
A public hearing will be held next Monday, with a Board of Education vote scheduled May 19. Voters also will choose three School Board members.
Last year’s $39.4 million spending plan carried a 2 percent hike in the property tax. The proposed new budget increases the tax by one-third of 1 percent, or $55,000 in added income. Tax rates are not computed for residents in the city and parts of the towns of Batavia and Stafford, which make up the district, until late summer.
The budget was fashioned over several months, with numerous changes by board members and Budget Ambassadors, volunteers from the public sector.
While all present programs are maintained, several faculty positions were eliminated because of reduced enrollment. Sixteen teachers accepted retirement incentive offers, and nearly half those positions will be left vacant.
Three incumbents are the only candidates for board seats. The three three-year terms will continue to be served by Gail M. Stevens, Gary F. Stich and Andrew Pedro.
Meanwhile, district voters will decide May 5 whether the annual budget for Richmond Memorial Library should be increased by $30,000, or 2.6 percent, to $1,143,872.
Public school budget funds underwrite most of the library’s $1,253,000 annual spending. John N. McGee, business administrator for Resurrection Parish, is the sole candidate for another five-year term as library trustee.
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