(PHOTO: On a video call Tuesday, the members of the board raised their hands to adopt the 2020-2021 budget of $92 million.)
On Tuesday night the Rye Board of Education adopted its proposed 2020-2021 budget of $92 million, sending it for public vote on Tuesday, June 9, 2020. There will be a budget hearing on Monday, June 1st before the vote the following Tuesday. Two open board of ed seats will also be filled on June 9th in a contested election with seven candidates.
Here is what you need to know on the budget, the hearing, the board of ed candidates and the voting – because everything is different in COVID-land.
The Budget
The proposed budget is $92,391,461. In the last couple of weeks, the budget received an approximate $480,000 haircut after Governor Cuomo warned State aid to schools could be cut up to 20% if there is no federal help. The 480K accommodates a 10% cut, and schools boss Eric Byrne said they have already considered what additional 5% cut increments in State funding might look like.
There is a new allocation of $150,000 for live streaming services. This is in addition to other existing technology budgets. There was some interesting discussion on what school might look like in the fall, and the need to plan and accommodate both students and staff who might need to work / study remotely if they are sick with COVID-19 or otherwise self isolating. It’s a stark warning that life is not going to return to “normal” any time soon.
The budget presentation and video of the board discussion is viewable below.
Board of Education Candidates
Two board of ed seats are opening. Blake Jines-Storey and Katy Keohane Glassberg’s terms are up, and they are not running for re-election. There are seven candidates running for the two open seats:
- James Culyer
- Vivek Kamath
- Pooja Kotecha
- John Leonard
- Petra Nemeth
- Mia Schultz
- Tom Stein
We’ll be running additional information on the candidates in the coming days.
The Budget Hearing and the Election
Both the budget hearing and the actual election are remote.
The hearing is Monday, June 1st at 6pm and will be viewable by video stream (watch for MyRye.com to post details on how to view). Questions from the public can be submitted in advance to [email protected].
Election ballots will be mailed to voters automatically. You do not need to submit an absentee ballot application for this election (you do need to submit an absentee ballot application for the June 23rd primary elections). Ballots must be received in the school district offices by 5pm on June 9, 2020.
View the budget presentation.
See the board discuss the budget (starts around the 38 minute mark):
