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MONTROSE, N.Y. Voters in the Hendrick Hudson School District will be asked to take a stance in the upcoming school budget election. The $70 million budget will have two bond propositions for the school district and a proposition to approve the Hendrick Hudson Free Librarys budget.
The vote will take place at the Frank G. Lindsey Elementary School gym from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
At about 8 p.m. Monday evening, the district announced a tentative agreement with the Hendrick Hudson Education Association, the district's teachers union. Without an agreement, district officials said 33 staff positions would be cut.
If the agreement is ratified by the district and members of the HHEA, six full-time positions could be restored and three positions, which were previously full-time, could be restored as part-time positions through operational savings.
Although details of the tentative agreement have not been released, district officials have said in previous budget meetings that they were looking for teachers to take a "zero increase" before restoring any staff positions.
The total budget to be voted on Tuesday, May 15 is $70,603,157, a 1.03 percent tax levy increase. The levy increase is below 2 percent due to a complicated equation provided by New York State, the equation calculates each school districts tax levy cap individually.
According to the tax cap legislation, if the school district's budget is voted down twice the district will have a zero dollar increase from the previous year's tax levy, a move district officials said would slash programming.
The district is made up of the Town of Cortlandt and a small piece of the City of Peekskill. Cortlandt residents will see a 1.45 percent tax rate increase to $962.40 per $1,000 of assessed value, $106 more annually on the average tax bill of $7,410. The average bill in Cortlandt and Peekskill is based on a home with an assessed value of $7,700.
Peekskill residents will see a tax rate decrease of 1.93 percent to $483.78 per $1,000 of assessed value, $73 less annually on the average tax bill of $3,725.
The ballot includes two bond propositions, the first for $500,000 that would go toward roof repairs in Buchanan-Verplanck Elementary and the Hendrick Hudson High School gym. The second referendum is for four vehicles worth $217,000, including one wheelchair accessible van, two dual rear wheel vans and one Suburban SUV.
Voters will also be asked to vote on the Hendrick Hudson Free Library budget of $1,371,887, a 1.5 percent increase and a tax rate increase of 0.44 cents per $1,000 of assessed value in Cortlandt, a 10 cent decrease in Peekskill.
Board of education officials up for election include two incumbents, Mary-Pat Briggi and Laurie Ryan, both running unopposed.
The district will receive annual payments of $22.3 million through Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreements (PILOTs), predominantly from Indian Point Nuclear Power Plants in Buchanan. The plants provide upwards of $17.8 million per year to the district.
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