Residents in the Sewanhaka school district will vote in Tuesday’s election on a 2020-21 school budget that increases spending by 2.8 percent.
The election is being carried out by absentee ballot because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The budget of $209,265,063 amounts to approximately $25,864 per student, based on the projected 8,091 students enrolled in the district in 2020-21.
The rise is partly due to an increase in salaries and retirement contributions. The Teacher’s Retirement System rate is projected to increase from 8.86 percent to 9.53 percent, and the Employees’ Retirement System is projected to increase from 15.1 percent to 15.4 percent on average.
This comes with a proposed tax levy increase of 2.72 percent, which is the limit for the district.
The budget will support maintenance of current staff and programs, continued implementation of the student one-to-one program with technology, enhanced special education programming, increased diversity of literature covered in English classes, continued professional development and new courses, according to the board’s May 26 presentation.
Of the budget, $1,830,362 goes toward capital improvements. These include installing safety vestibules in every school building and installing electronic locks on every classroom and office door.
The Sewanhaka Board of Education expects to receive $42,552,595 in state aid. This is a $799,716 increase from the aid that the district received last year.
The status of state aid is up in the air for every district, however. School districts across New York are bracing for up to 20 percent cuts to their funding from the state.
