Published: April 24, 2008 11:48 pm            

SCHOOLS: Tonawanda BOE approves $30.8M budget

The Tonawanda City School District Board of Education on Thursday approved a $30.8 million budget for the 2008-2009 school year.

All board members voted yes on the spending plan, except for Mark Flint, who was excused because of his work schedule.

The school board’s vote came one day after a public hearing on the budget, which was attended by one member of the public.

Totaling $30,847,261, the adopted budget is 3.12 percent higher than the previous year’s, and comes with a projected 1.5 percent increase in the tax levy.

A record increase in aid channeled through the state budget buoyed Tonawanda’s budget, as did additional revenue from Erie County through its sales tax revenue sharing program with schools. District officials attribute approximately $50,000 of the county aid to the influx of Canadian shoppers heading across the border to take advantage of the weakened value of the U.S. dollar.

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Peter Michaelsen said during Wednesday’s public hearing that while other counties in the region are ending their sales tax sharing programs with schools, districts in Erie County would be dealt a serious blow should county leaders ever decide to follow suit.

District taxpayers will vote on the budget May 20. While only one resident attended the public hearing, certainly not all taxpayers are pleased with a 3.12 percent budget-to-budget spending hike. Riverview Heights neighborhood resident Christopher Thomas said that with the record state aid, any budget increase is unacceptable.

“We as taxpayers need to stop the bleeding and have the people who are either paid or volunteer to manage our money control expenses, not ask for more and more,” Thomas said.

While the total budget is set, the makeup of the school board is not. Candidates for the May 20 ballot must turn their petitions in to the district clerk’s office by Thursday. Incumbents Joanne Berndt and Jim Weber are not seeking re-election, while Daniel Calabrese is cutting his term a year short. The top two vote getters will take the seats of the incumbents, and the third-place candidate will serve the remaining year of Calabrese’s term.

“The face of the board could change substantially,” District Clerk Pamela Stiegman said, adding that as of Thursday, none of the individuals who picked up school board petitions have yet returned them.

If no petitions are returned, the school board election would consist of write-in ballots, the results of which would take longer to compile, she said.

Voting sites are as follows: Mullen School (1st Ward residents), Highland Elementary (2nd Ward), City Hall (3rd Ward) and Riverview School (4th Ward).

Contact reporter David J. Hill at 693-1000, ext. 115.

        

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