Port Chester school board adopts $109.4M budget

With only a day’s notice, the Port Chester Board of Education met virtually on Wednesday, May 6, to have their first detailed discussion on the 2020-21 school budget.

After over four hours of contemplation and debate, the board adopted the $109.4 million tax-cap compliant spending plan that Superintendent Dr. Edward Kliszus had proposed.

Justifying the last-minute nature of the budget session, Kliszus said he requested the board take action quickly because they needed to figure out funding to finance the 2020 school board election and budget vote. On Friday, May 1, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order mandating districts to hold the annual vote with mail-in only ballots on June 9.

The $109.4 million budget represents a 5.45% increase, or $5.7 million, compared to last year’s spending plan—with most additional expenditures needed for debt service payments accrued by the $91 million worth of capital bond projects. Utilizing the entire 2.78% allowable tax levy increase, the budget is projected to increase taxes by an average of $39.

The rollover budget implies nothing is lost or gained compared to last year. However, during the presentation Kliszus warned that the district could lose state funding starting in July.

Though the Board of Education ultimately approved the spending plan in a 5-0 vote, the endorsement came after heated debate. Originally, Board of Education President Thomas Corbia encouraged the board to lessen the burden on taxpayers by using less than the full tax levy increase and thus cutting $1 million of programs and positions from the budget.

After over an hour and a half of live public comment filled with residents pleading with the board not to cut—concerned that reductions now will be followed by even more cuts in the future due to insecure state aid—the school board rejected the notion.

—Sarah Wolpoff