ANNUAL BUDGET VOTE & SCHOOL BOARD
ELECTIONS
Voting on the 2011-2012
District Budget and the Board of Education will be
held on Tuesday, May 17. Polls will be open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
A public hearing on the proposed budget will be held May
3.
Governor's Proposed Cuts: Port stands to lose $2.9 million
Community
Budget Workshop, Feb. 15
POSTED: February 4, 2011
As state aid continues to decline, district leaders are faced
with difficult choices. Do
we cut spending significantly and eliminate programs, services
and staffing? Do we raise taxes to maintain what we have? Do we
do a combination of both?
The Port Jervis School District is holding a Community Budget
Workshop in conjunction with the Feb. 15 Board of Education
meeting. The meeting will be held in the High School
cafeteria at 7 p.m.
The 2011-12 budget process marks the third straight year of
serious financial challenges for Port Jervis and school
districts across New York. Last year, Port Jervis officials
made $1 million in spending cuts. These included cuts to
BOCES services, student information systems, technology, student
club expenses, and savings from the privatization of
transportation services and decreased utility costs.
The state budget proposed last week by Governor Cuomo seeks
to cut dwindling school aid by an additional 7.3 percent or $1.5
billion. This plan would hurt school districts state wide
that are already facing unprecedented budgetary challenges. Here
in Port Jervis – where the district would lose $2.9 million in
state aid – the consequences would be devastating.
Between the projected state aid cuts, and the prospect of a tax
cap that would limit how much school districts can raise
property-tax levies, the Port Jervis School District will have
to make some pretty tough decisions to fill the revenue gap.
Assistant Superintendent for Business Lorelei Case will
present two budgets Feb. 15: a preliminary budget based on
current state aid levels and a spending plan that reflects the
$2.9 million in state aid cuts proposed last week by Gov. Cuomo.
This plan will likely include significant program cuts and up to
40 staff layoffs.
These will not be not easy decisions. For this reason,
the Board of Education and administration are holding a series
of public budget meetings. Dates for upcoming meetings will be
announced shortly. Taxpayers are invited to attend the meetings.
Questions? Taxpayers are invited to contact the
district by calling 858-3100, ext. 15531 or sending an email to
portbudget@pjschools.org.
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