The South Orangetown Central School District’s annual school budget vote and Board of Education elections will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 7:00AM-9:00PM.
At its April 18 meeting, the Board of Education adopted the 2024-25 school budget which totals $110,595,031 and reflects a tax levy increase of 1.5%, which is less than the allowable tax cap.
The proposed budget is 1.63% higher than the current year budget, which included the transfer of $1.70M to the Capital Reserve Fund to renovate the eight WOS classrooms not originally included in the Capital Improvements Project. The difference in actual expenditures is approximately $3.48M for which transportation, health insurance and contractual obligations continue to be key cost drivers.
The Board of Education will host its public budget hearing on Tuesday, May 14 at 7:30PM in the South Orangetown Middle School Library. Community members may ask questions regarding the budget at this meeting.
In addition to the budget, this year’s ballot includes two propositions pertaining to capital reserve funds. Proposition 2 asks voters to approve the establishment and funding of a new capital reserve fund which would enable the District to save surplus funds for major capital projects in the future. Proposition 3 asks voters to authorize the use of existing capital reserve funds to remove and replace two boilers at Tappan Zee High School.
The ballot will also include an election for one Board of Education seat with a three-year term starting July 1, 2024 and ending June 30, 2027. The candidates names, in the order they will appear on the ballot, based on a random selection process administered by the District Clerk on April 23, are: Marissa Squitieri, Dawn Kitz and Jenny Liz Sanchez. Information submitted by candidates is also posted here.
The South Orangetown PTAs and the TZHS Youth & Government Club will co-host a Meet the Board Candidates Forum on Thursday, May 16, at 7:00PM, in the SOMS Auditorium. The organizers invite students, staff, families and community members to submit questions in advance via this Google Form. Comments will not be permitted from the floor. Please refer to the SOCES PTA, SOMS PTA, TZHS PTSA and SEPTA Facebook pages for additional information.
For additional budget information, go to www.socsd.org/budget.
Voting information, including applications for early mail and absentee voting, is posted at www.socsd.org/voting-information.