Rye Schools Budget Vote is Tuesday: Your Crib Sheet
The annual budget vote for the Rye City Schools is Tuesday (May 17, 2016). Here is a crib sheet of the budget and the two school board candidates.
You can vote Tuesday at the Rye Middle School gym between 7am and 9pm.
Remember, if you don't vote, don't complain…
Top-line:
NY State's tax cap calc only permits Rye to increase prop taxes by 1%. However the proposed budget of $85M represents a 2.63% increase Y/Y as it pulls some $$ from a projected $11.2M in reserves to fill the gap. The combination of the state required tax cap, unfunded mandates, rising healthcare costs and a ballooning student population represents some real challenges, even for an affluent community like Rye City. Watch for a continuing conversation about this untenable architecture well beyond Tuesday's vote.
There is also a referendum question re whether to bond to replace the Osborn School furnace. After 59 years of service, the furnace bit it. The school plain cannot open in the fall without a new high-efficiency gas fired furnace as the old one is now in furnace heaven… The bond will be for $1.8 million. Want the full skinny on the furnance? Then watch this video.
The school board candidates:
Two peeps for two spots:
Katy Keohane Glassberg, current prez of the school board, has served on the board for six years and is looking to go around once again.
Official bio: Katy Keohane Glassberg has served on the Board of Education for six years. Ms. Glassberg was elected Board President on July 1, 2015; prior to that she served as Vice President for three years. She has chaired Policy, Facilities, and Health & Safety Committees and has served on Management Council, Curriculum Council, Technology, K-12 Science, Civility Initiative, and Safe Routes to Schools Committees. Previously, Ms. Glassberg served as Co-President of the PTO, Silent Auction Chair and Excellence Team Member at Milton School. She is a member of the High School PO and volunteers with the Caring Committee and Parsons Street Players Parent group. Ms. Glassberg graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication in 1989 and from Brooklyn Law School in 1993. After being admitted to the California and New York Bars, she worked as a litigator in general business, employment and securities law. Ms. Glassberg and her husband, Richy, have lived in Rye since 1995. They have two children, a 2015 Rye High School graduate, and a sophomore at Rye High School.
Jennifer Boyle is the newbie. She has served as co-chair of the Friends of Rye City School District since 2012.
Official bio: Jennifer Boyle has lived in Rye for nine years. She has three children: two attend Osborn School now, and the third will begin Kindergarten there in the fall. Since 2012, Mrs. Boyle has served as Co-Chair of the Friends of Rye City School District. In that role, she helped lead initiatives to educate the broader community about school district issues and to encourage voting on bond and budget proposals. Mrs. Boyle is familiar with Rye City School District processes, and the particular fiscal challenges that public school systems face in New York State. Mrs. Boyle has also been involved in the broader community for many years. She began her volunteer work with the Rye Newcomers and Neighbors Club coordinating children's events. For the past four years, she has served as a member of the Auxiliary Board for Rye Presbyterian Nursery School. Mrs. Boyle has been a class parent and volunteers as a teacher for Resurrection Church's PREP program. Mrs. Boyle previously worked in Public Relations for Edelman in New York City.
Read the Rye Schools newsletter with more budget detail – download it.
