Warwick School Budget Moves Toward Vote – The Warwick Valley Dispatch

Story by Lisa Rice

The Warwick Valley Central School Board of Education met via teleconference on Mon., May 18 for their regular monthly meeting. It was the third meeting held by teleconference, which has become necessary due to social distancing requirements. Dial-in information is available for the public on the District website.

Budget Resolution: Five New School Buses

Approaching the end of the budget preparation period, the Board adopted several resolutions to be put to voters in June.

The first resolution the Board adopted was a Bus Purchase Proposition to acquire five school buses and incidental equipment at a maximum aggregate cost of $599,000. An amount not to exceed $300,000 will be transferred from the Capital Bus Reserve to offset the cost, with the remainder going into the tax levy.

Virtual Public Hearing Tuesday, May 26

The Board adopted a resolution to hold a virtual public hearing for the qualified voters of the school district to discuss concerns relating to the 20-21 school budget via Google Meets on Tues., May 26 at 7 p.m. A link to the hearing will be made available on the District website.

Voting Registration & Process

Traditionally May is the month when voters go to the polls to vote for or against the proposed school budget for the following year. This year, due to COVID19 shutdowns, the vote has been postponed and voter registration revised.

The District Clerk will not be registering voters of the District. To be eligible to vote in this year’s budget vote, a voter must be registered to vote and have voted at least once in the past four years.

Anyone who wishes to register to vote in this election must register with Orange County Board of Elections by mail or through the DMV website. The School District will mail absentee ballots to all known registered voters and must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Tues., June 9.

2020-2021 Budget Adopted

The resolution was approved for the Board of Education of the Warwick Valley Central School District to be authorized to expend $94,440,394 for the school year beginning July 1, 2020 and ending June 30, 2021 and levy the necessary tax on the taxable property of the School District. A budget newsletter was sent out by the District this week.

District Reduces Property Rentals

The Board approved a motion to reduce the rental fees for tenants of Pine Island Elementary and Kings Elementary schools who have had to close their businesses due to the pandemic, in an effort to help those businesses stay in business.

Bullying/Harassment Consultant Hired

Megan Shedden, Esq. will be hired as a consultant to investigate two complaints of bullying and/or harassment and/or race-based discrimination at a rate of $175/hr. A confidential report will be provided to the District within 30 days of completion.

Scholarship Donation Accepted

The Board accepted donations to fund the Thomas Georgalas Memorial Scholarship and the Elizabeth Hurd Memorial Scholarship for Excellence in Communications.

Next Meeting

The final regular meeting of the 2019-2020 school year will be a public hearing Tues., May 26 with a special meeting scheduled for Mon., June 22.