WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – All but one of the north country’s school budgets passed Tuesday night.
(District by district vote details at bottom of this story)
Ogdensburg school district taxpayers shot down the school’s $58 million proposed budget that came with a tax levy increase just shy of 4%. A proposition to spend up to $2.5 million on 13 school buses was also shot down Tuesday night.
According to state law, when a proposed budget is defeated, a board of education can put the same budget forward a second time, re-tool the original budget, or adopt a contingent budget. If the budget is rejected a second time, the board would need to enact a contingent budget which can not increase the tax levy. That would require the district to reduce spending by $648,500, according to a press release from the school district.
A statement from Ogdensburg Superintendent Kevin Kendall states, “While we’re disappointed in the outcome of today’s vote, the administration and Board of Education will convene on Wednesday to determine the path ahead. Our priority continues to be doing what is best for our students and ensuring the district can operate effectively.”
Budgets for Watertown, Indian River and Carthage school districts – the three largest budgets in Jefferson, St. Lawrence and Lewis counties, all passed without incident. Carthage central boasts a 0% tax levy increase in this budget despite a $5 million increase in spending.
There were two districts with proposed budgets that exceeded their tax caps: LaFargeville and Sackets Harbor. Both budgets were passed by a supermajority vote.
Here is a full list of results as they came in Tuesday night:
Potsdam PASSES 309-42: $45.1 million budget, 2.1% tax levy increase, purchase of two buses and one van approved 317-33, incumbents J. Patrick Turbett and Rick Miller and newcomer Molly Andrasik were elected to the school board.
Lowville PASSES 212-72: $32 million budget, 2.06% tax levy increase, purchase of four buses approved, providing Head Start transportation approved, library funding approved. Incumbent school board members Cheyenne Steria, Stephanie Houser Fouse and Steven Fuller were re-elected.
Parshville-Hopkinton PASSES 158 to 34: $14.4 million budget, 2.3% tax levy increase. Incumbent school board member Heather Liebfried was re-elected. Newcomers Kristin Meashaw and Heather Snell were both elected.
Canton PASSES 248-96: $42 million budget, 3.9% tax increase, purchase of 3 transportation vehicles approved, library funding approved. Incumbent school board members Catherine Devins and Danny Thomas were re-elected. Newcomer Colleen Barkley was also elected.
Clifton-Fine PASSES 174-71: $12.4 million budget, 2.95% tax levy increase, purchase of utility truck using capital reserve fund approved. Incumbent school board member Melissa Streeter was re-elected.
LaFargeville PASSES 86-19: $12,031,652 million budget. A 5.45% tax levy, which exceeded the district’s tax cap, was approved by a supermajority. Incumbent Jada Waldroff was re-elected to the school board.
Harrisville PASSES 125-46: $11.4 million budget, 3.99% tax levy increase, purchase two buses approved, library funding was shot down by voters. Incumbent school board President Cory Bearor was re-elected.
Morristown PASSES 85-35: $12.1 million budget, 2.3% tax levy increase. Lisa Thompson was elected to the school board.
South Lewis PASSES 235-88: $35 million budget, 2.79% tax levy increase, purchase of 4 buses approved. School board incumbents Lucy Austin and Jessica Carpenter were re-elected, as was newcomer Kristin Thomas.
Madrid-Waddington PASSES 164-37: $23.5 million budget, 3.25% tax levy increase. The purchase of 2 buses was approved, as was the establishment of a capital reserve fund. Natalie McKnight and Kerek Kingston were elected to the school board.
Hammond PASSES 61-24: $11 million budget, 3.26% tax levy increase. The purchase of two buses was approved, as was the establishment of a capital reserve fund and funding for the library. Incumbent Jennifer Gardner was re-elected to the school board.
Gouverneur PASSES 141-46: $50 million budget, 2% tax levy increase. Incumbent school board members Brooke Bush and Todd Bates were re-elected. Newcomer Logan Buckmaster was also elected.
Indian River PASSES 133-25: $110 million budget, 5.2% tax levy increase. Library funding was also approved. Tianna Seamm was elected to the school board.
Beaver River PASSES 324-128: $23 million budget, 2% tax levy increase. Taxpayers were given the choice for the district to purchase 3 diesel buses or 2 diesel and 1 electric bus. Choice 1 for 3 diesel buses was approved 319-119. Library funding was also approved. Incumbent school board member Holly Aucter was reelected, as were newcomers Amy Baker and Amanda Mattimore.
Copenhagen PASSES 71-4: $12.7 million budget, 2% tax levy increase. A proposition to provide transportation for Head Start was also approved. Incumbent school board members Lynn Murray and Robert Stackel were re-elected.
Lisbon PASSES 156-65: $18.4 million budget, 2.3% tax levy increase. The purchase of two buses was approved. Incumbent school board member Mary Fonda was re-elected.
Carthage PASSES: 474-127: $82 million budget, 0% tax levy increase. District voters also approved library funding. A shake-up on the school’s board education as 7 candidates ran for 3 seats on the board. Incumbent member Jonathan Schell was re-elected. Newcomers Jennifer Bossuot and Mark Storms defeated incumbent candidates Janice Gravely and Robert Wilson.
Massena PASSES 325-68: $78 million budget, 0% tax levy increase. The purchase of four buses was included in the overall budget. School board incumbents Patricia Murphy and Joyce Giroux were re-elected.
Alexandria PASSES 369-128: $17.9 million budget, 4.9% tax levy increase. District voters approved the purchase of two buses and library funding. The district also had two separate capital projects up for vote; one related to education and one extra-curricular. The educational project was approved 362-147 and the extra-curricular project was defeated 435-78. Incumbent school board members Christopher Symenow and Emily Chase were re-elected, as was newcomer Michael Roberts.
Brasher Falls PASSES 179-28: $33,878,443 budget, 4.75% tax levy increase. District voters approved the purchase of 3 buses and the establishment of a $1.5 million capital reserve fund. Incumbent school board members Courtney Hallahan and Lance St. Hilaire were re-elected.
Norwood-Norfolk PASSES 153-32: $31,795,744 budget, 1.5% tax levy increase. The purchase of four transportation vehicles was approved. Incumbent school board members Susan Mackey and Heaven Simmons were re-elected, as was newcomer Matthew Jones.
Edwards Knox PASSES 94-58: $19.3 million budget, 3.22% tax levy increase. The purchase of 3 diesel buses was approved. Incumbent school board members Penny Allen, Craig Kirkpatrick and Dustin Lottie were all re-elected.
Heuvelton PASSES 71-38: $22 million budget, 2.95% tax levy increase. Incumbent school board member Alexa Backus Chase was re-elected.
Hermon-DeKalb PASSES 160-39: $14.9 million budget, 1.97% tax increase. A proposition to buy two school buses was approved, as was additional library funding. Brian Reed was elected to the school’s board of education.
Belleville Henderson PASSES 217-99: $13.6 million budget, 3.9% tax levy increase. A proposition to purchase 2 school buses passed, as did library funding. Chantal Briant was elected to the school’s board of education.
Thousand Islands PASSES 207-52: $24,920,000 budget, 3.2% tax levy increase. Voters approved the purchase of 3 buses, as well as library funding and the establishment of a $10 million capital reserve fund. Incumbent school board members Erin Churchill, Brooke Roes and Timothy Wiley were re-elected.
Ogdensburg DEFEATED 329-301: $58.2 million budget, 3.9% tax levy increase. A proposition to buy 13 school buses for a maximum price of $2.5 million was also shot down by school taxpayers. Angela McRoberts and Renee Grizzuto were both elected to the board of education.
Watertown PASSES 401-257: $112,121,818, 2.55% tax levy increase. A proposition to spend up to $5.3 million on energy improvements in buildings throughout the district also passed. Incumbent school board member John Cain III was re-elected, as was newcomer Shawn Griffin.
Lyme PASSES 184-45: $10 million budget, 3.9% tax levy increase. A proposition to purchase 2 buses passed, as did funding for the library. Saige Crum was elected to the board of education.
Sackets Harbor PASSES 218-110: $11.2 million budget. A tax levy increase of 7.9%, which exceeded the district’s tax cap, was approved. The purchase of a wheelchair accessible bus was approved, along with the establishment of a capital reserve fund and funding for the library. Incumbent school board member David Altieri was re-elected.
Genral Brown PASSES 210-65 as does a library funding proposition, 210-64. Natalie Hurley and Jason Reynolds won three year terms on the board of education, each with 235 votes. The budget voters approved is $32.9 million (up $2.6 million) with the ‘tax levy’ (the total amount of local property taxes collected) going up 2.6 percent.
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