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Voters in Minisink Valley in Orange County rejected both the proposed $97.46 million budget - which came with a 7.97 percent tax levy increase, exceeding the state’s cap - and a request to purchase 10 new school buses for more than a million dollars.
Voters rejected the budget in a 1,795 to 1,168 vote. According to the school district, the results showed 60.6 percent of voters opposed the proposed budget; 39.4 percent approved it. It required a supermajority of 60 percent plus one to pass.
The school bus vote, which would have cost the district $1,025,563, failed by a vote of 1,269 to 1,676.
When a proposed school budget is defeated at the polls, New York State law gives school boards three options. Board members may decide to put the same budget up for vote a second time, put a revised budget up for vote, or go directly to a contingency budget.
“While we are disappointed by the election results, we appreciate all community members who considered the district’s budget proposal and came out to the polls to cast their vote,” Superintendent Brian Monahan said. “At our next Board of Education meeting on Thursday, May 30, we will begin to discuss the district’s options and next steps.”
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