Written by Doug Larocque
At a recent special meeting, the Granville Board of Education discussed the merits of two proposed capital projects.
The first will upgrade various school facilities at a cost of $27.9 million. The project will be fully funded with state funds and capital reserves and will have no tax impact, the district said. The board voted 8-0 to advance the proposal and place it on the May 21 budget ballot, despite Commissioner Daniel Nelson's absence.
A second proposal to add both a turf surface and lighting to Eppolito Field at a cost of $5.45 million failed. Since only a portion of the cost would be covered by state funds, this proposal would raise taxes. Several board members opposed the project, including the idea of creating a fund to replace the lawn in 10 to 12 years.
The board decided to split the project into two parts. One will cost $4.48 million for the lawn and the other will cost $914,606 to install lighting.
When it came time to vote, only three people voted to put the lawn project on the ballot: Kimberly Bascom, Connor Hoagland, and Mario Torres. Torres said during the meeting that he believes voters should make the decision. Board members Priscilla Brown, Shirley Coenen, Michelle O'Brien, John Troy and board chairman Edward Valdica opposed it.
The lighting project has some tax implications, but not enough to affect the overall project, which was approved 8-0.
budget negotiations
The board is now beginning to take a hard look at the school's budget for the 2024-25 school year.
Unlike many school districts in the area, Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposed changes to the school attendance system would not reduce the total amount of Foundation aid the Granville School District would receive, but the increase would be less than this year. There wasn't.
Under Hochul's proposal, Granville would receive $15.5 million in foundation aid, an increase of 2.94 percent, or $443,824. That number could change slightly because both chambers of the state Legislature rejected Hochul's changes to foundation grants, preserving the so-called “hold harmless” clause and increasing foundation grants by 3%. “Hold harmless” ensures that every school district receives less state aid in the new budget than in the previous year.
Adding in all other parts of the school attendance aid package, Granville would receive 3.37% more than this year.
The board is planning several workshops to discuss what the budget will look like before it goes to voters. They must make these decisions before they know what the final national budget will look like.
The board has scheduled a public hearing on the budget for Monday, May 13 at 6 p.m.