It's Almost Time to Vote Again
Four weeks from today Putnam Valley residents will determine the outcome of several important questions. How much money should the school district have in its budget next year? How much should it be able to spend on capital projects to improve the schools' facilities? And should the town library be given an increase of $23,000 to continue building its programs? The issue of who should fill two seats on the school board for the next three years is less in doubt since the two current trustees in those positions - Sam Oliverio Jr. and Janette Yetter - are running again, uncontested.
For people not paying close attention to these issues, consider this a crib sheet. With any luck, it will inspire a few more people to vote. Voter turnout for school-related elections has been abysmal. In January, just 1,290 voted on the $14 million school bond referendum out of a total of 7,942 registered voters in the school district. School-related proposals are often won or lost by tiny margins. In January, the bond proposal lost by 42 votes; two years ago, the library budget was approved by just four votes.
Proposition 1: The school district budget
The school budget is beyond complicated, and it's hard to imagine most people wanting to wade through the powerpoint or video presentations. The short version is that the district is asking voters to approve spending a total of $63.3 million on school activities, of which 67%, or $42.6 million, would be paid for by taxpayers and 27% by state aid. The proposed budget is 2.99% larger than last year's. However, after deciding to transfer some funds from its operating budget to its capital budget to reduce the borrowing cost to residents of some of its capital improvements, the district's actual operating budget would increase by 2.58%, below the core 3.1% inflation rate.
To explain how the district has been able to keep its costs below generalized inflation, Assistant Superintendent of Business Administration Grace Chan says she did a line-by-line analysis of past spending and identified over $800,000 in savings. The district has also joined a regional purchasing consortium to lower supply costs. That said, salaries and benefits make up 70% of the district's expenses and cumulatively, those have risen by about 6%. She also noted a 23% hike in the district's property insurance and a 10.2% increase in utility costs.
What happens if the budget isn't approved? The district gets an opportunity to take a second swing at it and if it fails twice, next year's budget would revert to this year's level, requiring the school board to cut the budget by a whopping $1.2 million.
How is the district proposing to spend its money next year? Here is a link to the document detailing each budget line. The general comparison between this year's budget and last year's can be seen below:
Critics of the proposed budget reflect a national aversion to higher taxes. They have done their own analysis of the budget lines and remain convinced that the district's per-student spending is too high, that administrators like Superintendent Dr. Jeremy Luft are overpaid, and that attempts to make the district schools better are excessive.
For an apples-to-apples comparison of how Putnam Valley's school district stacked up in 2023 against others in the area, see below:
Last year's vote on the budget was a nail-biter, passing by 142 votes, and this one is likely to be no different. It will pit one group of voters, who badly want to see their tax burden come down and doubt the school system needs more funding, against those who believe the district's reputation for providing a quality education deserves ongoing support and contributes to the town's general well-being.
Given that there are two other propositions on the ballot in May that would also raise taxes, it will likely take considerable mobilization of parents in the school district, who have historically had very low turnout, to overcome general anti-tax sentiment and voter apathy.
Proposition 2: The school bond referendum
Readers of this blog are undoubtedly familiar with the controversy surrounding the district's January proposal to issue a $14 million bond to support repairs and critical maintenance at its two campuses. (A recent story can be found here.) Key to understanding the issue is that the state will reimburse 66% of the cost to the district of its capital improvements. That makes the decision about things like replacing a roof, repaving parking lots and shoring up retaining walls easier to stomach, though the opposition was still strong enough in January to defeat the proposal.
Since then, the school district has held numerous meetings with residents to explain its proposal in more detail and has been trying to improve its communication with voters. It also reduced some of its goals and instead of proposing a $14 million bond, its revised proposition asks voters to authorize $13.5 million. The district's new approach is outlined here.
For those still with questions, the Putnam Valley Education Foundation is hosting a "Coffee and Capital Project" session at the town library on April 30th at 6pm.
Proposition 3: The Putnam Valley Free Library budget
You may wonder why the town library's budget request is on the same ballot as that of the school district. In 2023, having made no headway seeking additional funding from the town, the library utilized an alternative funding mechanism, which was to piggyback on the school district's election process. That approach worked: it received approval from taxpayers to increase its budget from $347,650 to $460,000. This year it is using the same approach to request approval for a $483,000 budget, a more modest increase that it says is needed to maintain and support its operations.
Voting information
Voting will take place from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20th at the Putnam Valley Elementary School, 171 Oscawana Lake Road. All registered voters who live in the school district are eligible to vote. Those who can't get there on the day can click on these links to get forms for an absentee or an early mail-in ballot.
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