General News: Budget Status Review at Public Forum
March 20, 2012
By Charlie B. Scirbona
A community forum held by the Cornwall Board of Education to call attention to the proposed Cornwall Central School District budget work drew a smaller crowd than expected Monday.
Three long rows of chairs sat mostly empty in the Cornwall Central Middle School’s cafeteria as Assistant Superintendant for Business Harvey Sotland explained where the board stands with its work on the 2012-2013 school budget.
As it stands now, the proposed $61 million budget for next year, would require a tax levy increase of 4.62 percent. Assistant Superintendent Sotland explained that if the board were to keep the tax levy at the maximum allowable amount, which for Cornwall is 2.85 percent, the board would have to cut $725,421 from the proposed budget. If adopted, the current proposed plan wouldn’t require any reductions from the current academic program.
The proposed budget, which district superintendant Tim Rehm said was still subject to change, would require the approval of 60 percent of voters in order to pass and override the two-percent tax levy cap.
The maximum allowable levy for districts varies depending on a large amount of variables. He added that should the budget fail it would automatically require a zero percent tax levy increase and a reduction of more than $1.8 million in the budget. This would necessitate cuts to all modified sports, all extracurricular activities, five elective courses at the high school and a host of other activities and positions. Sotland said.
‘It would change the entire culture and everything we’ve been doing at Cornwall,” said Rehm.
Comments:
No comments have been posted.
Add a Comment:
Please signup or login to add a comment.
|
 |
|
