2011-12 Webutuck school district budgets approved

WEBUTUCK — Area residents voted to pass all propositions and a $20 million-plus budget with the North East Central School District (Webutuck) vote on Tuesday, May 17.The vote does the following:• Passes the 2011-12 school budget.• Gives the Board of Education (BOE) permission to purchase two 65-passenger school buses.• Allows the BOE to donate the Millerton Elementary School (MES) building to a public entity for public use.• Establishes a Bus Purchase Reserve Fund.• Authorizes the BOE to transfer the remaining money from the Bus Garage Reserve Fund to the Bus Purchase Reserve Fund.• Lets the BOE buy buses using the Bus Purchase Reserve Fund.Three vacancies on the Webutuck BOE were also filled during the vote. Candidate Judith Moran received 223 votes, candidate Robert Trotter received 219 votes and write-in candidate Kristen Panzer received 87 votes.The 2011-12 school budget that was passed is for $20,227,770, which is an increase of 2.26 percent, or $446,813 from the previous school year.According to a press release mailed to residents in the district, had this budget not been passed, the contingency budget, or backup budget, would have “eliminated the purchase of computer equipment and student supplies, community or public use of buildings and salary increases for certain staff.”The budget passed with roughly 73 percent of voters casting ballots in its favor. Only 95 votes were cast against the budget.In the most favorable decision of the evening, 270 votes — nearly 78 percent — were cast in favor of allowing the BOE to donate the MES building to a public entity for public use. It is still not certain which public entity will take title to the building.About 62 percent of voters cast ballots in favor of the purchase of one 65-passenger school bus, while only 54 percent agreed that a second 65-passenger school bus was also needed.During the last three years, the cumulative tax levy increase totals 5.13 percent.