School Board to Meet Thursday: Public Hearing for Adopted Budget

Port Chester residents: now that next year’s school budget has been approved by the Board of Education, it’s time to take the mic and tell them how you feel.

Taxpayers will have the opportunity this Thursday night to talk with elected officials about the $79.5 million adopted budget, up $2.2 million from last year.

The adopted budget came after months of deliberation, cost-cutting and some surprises, like additional state aid in a lean budget year.

Before going in to Thursday's meeting, there are a few things to consider, according to officials: for one, employee benefits will now total $16 million for the upcomingyear—a figure that is up $2 million from last year’s budget. That factor, along with overall district upkeep like textbooks and other equipment, plus rising salary costs, will put the newest tax levy at 3.31 percent.

But residents should not go by that figure alone, said school board President, Jim Taylor.

Overall assessed value has also dropped $327 million in the past year, and each individual property will be receiving a different tax bill based on that appraisal.

“The key thing is that people need to calculate their own taxes because of differences in assessments—some values went down a lot, so folks could be paying less,” he added.

If you aren't sure how to figure it out, the Board of Education will bring in the experts to answer questions. Rye Town Assessor, Mitchell Markowitz, will step in to make a short presentation where he'll calculate the effects based on each village house.

Port Chester dwellers may also not know the district received $700,000 more than expected from New York State, putting the total number of state aid at $15.1 million.

“We’d like to inform people as much as possible about the process and how we got where we are [today],” said school board member Carolee Brakewood.

But what's the point of coming out and voicing concerns if the budget has already been approved and adopted?

The budget will ultimately come down to a vote, and input from residents will impact the following year's budget as well, said Brakewood. For example, if officials have cut funding for something from last year, voicing an opinion may help bring it back the next time around.

"A lot of times we hear people say, 'I wish you'd bring back [a program]...and it could play into the next year's budget," she said.

The public hearing for the 2011-2012 budget will be held this Thursday at 7:30 pm in room 229 at Port Chester High School, with a budget vote held on May 17 from 7am-9pm in the Port Chester Middle School Gymnasium.

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