New Paltz Central School District

January 10, 2025

Dear Faculty, Staff, Parents, Students, and Community Members,

Happy New Year everyone.  School is back in session and there is a lot going on.  Here is a brief update on current events followed by a reissuing of the capital project update that I sent out on December 29th.

Capital Project Presentations

The capital project vote will be on January 16th from 7 am until 9 pm in the High School gymnasium.  We continue to try to get the word out to all voters about the details of the propositions and the cost to taxpayers.  We have done presentations during school board meetings and we have done presentations at the Gardiner Library, the Elting Library, Water Street Market, Woodland Pond, the weekly senior citizen lunch at the NP Community Center, and at the Rotary Club luncheon.  Only one community presentation remains.  That will be held at the Jewish Community Center in New Paltz at 7 pm on Monday, January 13th.

On Wednesday January 8th we held a “coffee with the board members” session followed by a full capital project presentation.  Both of these activities gave the public the opportunity to ask any questions they might have about the propositions.  You can watch the full presentation and the question and answer period by clicking on this link.

Early Voting or Absentee Ballots

Since we mailed home the 8 page newsletter about the capital project around the first of the year, we have had a lot of people come to the district office to vote early.  Some people have sent letters to us requesting early voting ballots or absentee ballots and we have mailed them.

The vote is coming up very soon.  All completed ballots must be received in the District Office by 5 pm on January 16th to be counted in the vote.  So, if you have not yet returned your ballot to us, I encourage you not to put it in the mail but to bring it directly to the District Office at 1 Eugene L. Brown Drive.  That way we know it will get here on time.

While you do need a reason to vote with an absentee ballot, you do not need one to vote through the use of an early voter ballot.  If you wish to vote early, you can come to the district office M-F between 8 am and 4 pm to request, receive, and cast an early ballot.

The Upcoming Budget Season - New Information about the tax cap

We don’t typically start talking publicly about the budget for the following school year until February when we get our first look at the Governor’s proposal for state financial aid to schools.  This year, however, we have had some early discussions on the outlook for the 2025-2026 school year because we realize that a successful capital project vote will also increase taxes.

An early look at expenses, assuming we offer everything we offer this year again next year (a rollover budget) indicates that our expenses will be going up a substantial amount.  This is not a surprise since the cost of everything is going up.

While we don’t know what we will get for state aid, it is likely that we will not get more money from the state than we did last year.  Any increased revenue that we get will likely come from an increase in the tax levy.  The amount a school can increase the tax levy is based on a complicated formula put out by the state.  It is called a 2% tax cap but it is not really a 2% tax cap.  It really depends on the results of a complicated formula.  Here is a really good video that sort of explains the 2% tax cap law.  The video is 9 years old but it is easy to understand and still worth watching.

I bring this up now because our preliminary tax cap calculations indicate that the tax cap will be in the neighborhood of 3% for the coming year.  So, as I have said during all of the capital project presentations, school taxes will be going up regardless of what happens with the capital project vote.

A roughly 3% increase in the tax levy will be needed to pay our bills next year.  That does not mean that your taxes will go up by exactly 3%, it means that the school will take an additional 3% from the community.  All taxpayers will pay a portion of this increase based in part on the assessed value of their property, not on the market value of their property.

So, the tax levy is going to go up by about 3%.  If proposition #1 passes then the tax levy will go up by an additional estimated amount of 1.16%.  If proposition #1 and #2 pass, then the tax levy will go up by about 2.39% in addition to the 3%.  If proposition #1 and #3 pass, the tax levy will go up about 3.96% in addition to the estimated 3% increase.  If all three propositions pass, the tax levy will go up by about 5.15% in addition to the estimated 3% tax increase.

I tell you all of this because I think it is important for you to have all of the facts as you make the best decision for you and your family on January 16th.

Spring Continuing education Program

I am pleased to announce that we again got a great response from the community when we asked for people to run continuing education offerings.  We anticipate putting out a brochure next week after the January 15th school board meeting that lists the more than 25 courses we plan to offer from February through April.  I will send you a special community update next week with a link to the brochure which will include links to sign up for courses.  Thank you to the community for stepping up once again.

Harlem Wizards

Lots of fun things go on in our school community.  One that is particularly worth noting.is the upcoming basketball game between the Harlem Wizards and the NPCSD faculty and staff.

The MS PTA ran this event last year.  It was great fun and they made a lot of money to support MS field trips.  Please consider coming out and supporting your faculty as they defeat the Wizards and raise money for a good cause.

Science Awards

Our students are accomplishing great things all across the district.  It is impossible to point out all of the significant successes, but there is one group that I do want to highlight today.  Our high school science research class, under the direction of teacher Kurt Ulrich with assistance from teacher Brennan Woods, have presented their research projects and we have some award winners.

Joseph Birnbaum: “The Effects of Wildfire Intensity on the Regeneration of Pinus rigida Mill (Pitch Pine) on the Shawangunk Ridge”

Cora Shuryn: “Stenomatic: Designing An Open Source Stenotype Keyboard”

Wendy Zhao: “The Effect of Leaf Age on the Photosynthetic Rate of Lettuce”

Congratulations to these individuals and to all of the students in the science research class. A special shout out is appropriate for senior Joe Birnbaum who was named a Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar by the Society for Science.

Only 300 high school seniors across the nation are selected for this prestigious honor each year so this is a major accomplishment.

That concludes my update for today.  As always, please feel free to email me or call me if you have any questions.  

Regards,

Stephen Gratto - Superintendent

Capital Project Update from December 29, 2024

Dear Faculty, Staff, Parents, Students, and Community Members,

The capital project vote will be taking place on January 16, 2025.   I am hopeful that all voters are fully aware of the details associated with the three capital project propositions.  However, we continue to do our best to educate the community on what their options are.

At the school board meeting on December 18th, we received a presentation about the capital project from Mike Lantier, our school architect.  The slide show from his presentation can be found by clicking this link.  We also received a presentation from Beth Furguson, our fiscal advisor.  The slide show from her financial presentation can be found by clicking this link..  If you would like to watch the video of the capital project presentation from the board meeting, you can access that by clicking this link.  The capital project presentation starts at the beginning of the video so it will be easy to find.

A capital project newsletter will be mailed out to the home addresses of all residents of our school district within the next couple of days.  If you do not receive this newsletter in the mail by January 3rd or 4th, please send me an email and I will make sure you get a copy.  It should tell you everything you might want to know about the propositions, the cost, and the best way to vote including how to get early ballots or absentee ballots.

We continue to have capital project information sessions around the community.  We have done outreach at the Gardiner LIbrary, the Elting Library, the Rotary Club, and the Water Street Market.  Upcoming presentations before the vote on January 16 include.

In previous community updates, I have given a great deal of information about the capital project as well as an early look at the financial outlook for the 2025-2026 school year.  I think it is important that community members consider both of these issues as they make decisions about how to vote.  Here are a few facts that I think are important to keep in mind.

1. We  are facing a third very difficult budget season in a row.  Over the last two years we have reduced many expenses and we have eliminated over 25 positions.  The 2025-2026 budget looks very difficult as well, as early projections indicate that we will have to again reduce over $2,000,000 from the budget which will definitely mean that more staff positions will be eliminated.

2. There is never a good time to do a capital project because they are always expensive.  However, voters need to realize that, as with their own homes, taking good care of facilities is very important because if proper maintenance is not done now, it will just cost more to fix things later.  Since the prices of everything are going up, the costs of repairs and upgrades will never be cheaper than they are right now.

3. Repairs and upgrades need to be done.  Doing them as part of a capital project rather than as part of our yearly operating budget makes sense because the school gets a significant amount of state aid on capital projects that it does not get on repairs done through the general budget.  Specifically, here is the actual cost of the four possible outcomes of the capital project vote and their cost to tax payers:

4. A successful capital project vote will not significantly impact the 2025-2026 budget.  However, certain parts of the capital project propositions will have yearly legacy costs that will impact future operating budgets.  We continue to refine our estimates of the legacy costs associated with the long term operation/maintenance of an aquatics center and the long term maintenance of an artificial turf field.  At the last board meeting, the architect presented a couple of new slides that you likely have not seen before.

Artificial Turf

For those of you who have questions about exactly what would go into a recycled rubber artificial turf, here is a diagram.

Here are the costs of artificial turf field:

It is worth noting that the yearly cost of the artificial turf field is only $8,000 compared to an estimated $14,000 that we pay now to maintain the grass field.  However, the cost to replace the artificial turf every 12-15 years more than offsets the annual saving in maintenance..

Aquatics Center

Here are the estimated costs for maintaining the aquatics center:

Here it is worth noting that the cost of staffing and maintaining a pool would need to be figured into future budgets, probably starting with the 2027-2028 budget.

5. Many people have asked us questions about all features of the capital project.  I have answered many of those questions above, but here are a few more common ones that I have not yet addressed in this update:

Why have a vote on January 16th when the weather might be bad?

After much deliberation, the board decided to have the vote in January rather than do it along with the regular budget vote in May.  It takes a very long time to get approval for a capital project and some of the fixes being proposed in the capital project are immediate needs.  We were informed by our architect that if we could get the vote finalized before February we could begin work in the summer of 2026.  After February, it was likely that most of the project would be pushed out to a start date of summer 2027.  Being able to start the project up to a year earlier is the main reason the board decided to have the vote in January.

It is true that having a vote that is separate from the May budget vote will cost the district over $10,000.  However, the board felt this was a reasonable price to pay to get necessary work done up to a year earlier.  Votes in the fall or winter are not at all uncommon.  Ellenville and Rondout each just had capital project votes in December.  We had hoped to have our vote in December as well, however our vote was pushed back until January because the board of elections could not free up the voting machines for us until January due to the recent presidential election.  Rondout and Ellenvile were able to have December elections because they own their own voting machines.  We do not own our own voting machines.

How can one vote by absentee ballot or by early mail

We realize that a January vote might be difficult for some.  The weather in January will likely not be as accommodating as the weather in May.  Some people may be out of town in January and others might not want to brave the cold.  Absentee Ballot Applications and Early Mail Ballot Applications are now available and are  posted on the school website... If you would like an Absentee Ballot Application or Early Mail Ballot Application mailed to you, please contact the District Clerk via email at sermo@newpaltz.k12.ny.us or regular mail at District Clerk, New Paltz Central School District, 196 Main Street, New Paltz, NY 12561.

All Absentee Ballot Applications and Early Mail Ballot Applications must be received by the District Clerk by January 9, 2025 if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or by January 15, 2025 if the Absentee or Early Mail Ballot will be picked up personally. Absentee Ballots and Early Mail Ballots issued by the District Clerk in person may only be given to the voter.  By law, the original signature of the absentee voter/early mail voter is required on the application, and the application must be delivered to the District Clerk by mail or in person. Applications cannot be accepted electronically. All Absentee Ballots/Early Mail Ballots must be received by the District Clerk no later than 5:00 PM on Thursday, January 16, 2025. For further information, please contact the District Clerk at 845-256-4020 or sermo@newpaltz.k12.ny.us.

Why was a capital project for a pool put up in these difficult financial times?

I have only worked for the NPCSD for two years, but during this time the board has proven to me that they truly listen to what the public has to say.  During the time when the structure of a capital project was being discussed, a large number of vocal swim enthusiasts came out and let their opinions be known.  While this is definitely a difficult financial and political  time for a school to consider a large expenditure, it is true that a pool will never be less expensive than it is now.  For these reasons, the board decided to put to a vote what has apparently been discussed in the community for many years.  The board made the decision to allow this issue to come to the community for a vote so that the issue can be settled by the voters.  My job, and the job of the school board, is now to educate the public on all facets of the capital project, including the pool, so the voters can make the best decisions for themselves and their families.

How will we deal with the closing of the SUNY pool?

For many years the NPCSD swim teams have been practicing and competing at the pool at SUNY.  We appreciate SUNY allowing us to rent their pool at the price of only about $5,300 per year. It is true that SUNY will soon be closing their pool for an extended period of time for renovations.  On November 13, at a meeting with local officials including Dr. Wheeler and other SUNY leaders, we were told that the SUNY pool will likely be closed for three years starting in summer or fall 2026.  This means that we will need to find a place for our swim teams to practice and compete for those three school years.  I believe that many people think that the capital project will help solve this or mitigate this problem.  However, I think it is important for everyone to know that, even if proposition #3 is approved by the voters on January 16, the pool will not be completed until sometime in 2028.  Therefore, building our own pool will likely not help solve the problem of SUNY closing their pool for three years.  For the three years that the SUNY pool is closed or we are building a school pool, our swim teams will have to practice and compete at another high school, college, or YMCA in our area.

Will students receive swim lessons if we build a school aquatics center?

During the time when people were advocating for including a pool in the capital project, the importance of all children learning to swim was often brought up.  The board definitely agreed with this sentiment and they do want all of our children to be safe.  However, it is very important for the community to understand that swim lessons will not be offered to students during the school days on a regular basis.  There is simply not enough time in the school day for elementary or middle school students to be bussed to the high school for regular swim lessons.  In addition, there are no plans to require high school students to take swimming lessons during the school day as part of their physical education programs.

While we won’t be requiring students to take swim lessons, if a pool is built we hope to offer swim electives to high school students during the school day.  The total number of electives might vary, but it is likely we would offer two or three electives per day

Our swim teams would use the pool for practices and competitions.  The girls team competes in the fall and the boys team competes in the winter.

Will community members get to use the pool?

The school board believes that our beautiful school facilities should be used by the public.  That is one reason why the district has recently created a community continuing education program.

The pool would be available for rent to outside organizations or for use by a school continuing education program.  It is likely that some organizations would want to organize swim lessons, adult swim, and open swim sessions.  However, other than possibly through a school continuing education program, the district does not plan to organize options for the community to use the pool.  Community pool use will depend on outside organizations coming forward to rent the pool and organize the sessions.

We are contemplating building an 8 lane pool and an 8 lane track.  Will we be able to host sports events that will help pay the cost of building these facilities?

The answer to this question is a big “maybe”.  The school does pay some money to send our track teams and swim teams to big tournaments at other schools and facilities.  It has been suggested by many that our school could make money by hosting these events.  While this may be possible, it is important for all the voters to understand that this is not something the school is promising or advocating for.  We are not counting on generating these funds and they do not figure into any of our cost estimates.  Voters should not count on these funds being generated as they consider whether or not to support the capital project propositions.

Is an artificial  turf field a good idea?

This is also a decision voters will have to make for themselves.  We have heard from many people that they are concerned about the environmental and safety impacts of artificial turf.  The board is aware of these concerns and considered them fully as they debated on whether or not to include artificial turf in the capital project.  The final decision to include turf was based on equity and availability.  

Right now, the Floyd Patterson field is used only for home football games.  Five or six football games do a lot of damage to the field and therefore other sports do not have access to the field.  However, there are many other sports and teams who would love to play on the big field under the lights.  By going with artificial turf, this would allow the field to be used constantly by football, lacrosse, and soccer teams at all levels.

So, it is easy to see both sides of the argument.  Voters should look into the research done on turf fields and weigh that information vs. the cost of putting in turf and the availability benefits to a large number of student athletes.  

Why were solar panels and heat pumps not included in the capital project?

This question was also brought up repeatedly during facilities meetings and capital project discussions.  The capital project does include replacing all of the lights in the district with energy saving LED lights, however some have expressed that this does not do enough to help the environment.

It is important to note that solar panels and heat pumps were strongly considered by both the facilities committee and the school board throughout the process.  Both groups relied heavily on the advice of our architects from H2M.  Their advice was quite clear.  While there might be grants that would help with the purchasing of some solar panels, these grants are not something we can count on.  Furthermore, an analysis of the return on investment, taking into consideration the very low rate we pay for electricity, indicated that it would take too long to realize any return on our investment.  While everyone understands and acknowledges the value of heat pumps, our architect advised us that it is not really possible at this time to heat and cool an entire school with mini-splits.  Also, given the fact that our boilers still have several good years of life in them the board decided it was better to wait until our existing  boilers are closer to the end of their lives and when the technology would better enable us to use renewable resources to heat and cool the schools.

Are our taxes going to go up in addition to increases caused by the capital project?

Yes.  All public schools in New York State are subject to the 2% tax cap.  However, the 2% tax cap is not really a 2% tax cap but rather it is calculated by each district each year using a complicated formula.  In fact, the 2% tax cap is almost never 2%.  Here is a chart showing our tax levy increases over the last several years.

Based on history, I expect that the tax levy for the 2025-2026 school year will increase by somewhere between 3% and 4% over the 2024-2025 school year.  This increase will be in addition to any tax increase caused by a successful capital project vote.

Thank you for reading this capital project update.  We hope that our capital project newsletter being mailed out to all district residents will answer a lot of questions.  However, we believe these community email updates are valuable as well.  If you know anyone who is not receiving my occasional email updates, please share this link with them so they can also read this information.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.  As always, if you have any questions, please email or call me.

Regards,

Stephen Gratto - Superintendent

January 10, 2025

Dear Faculty, Staff, Parents, Students, and Community Members,

Happy New Year everyone.  School is back in session and there is a lot going on.  Here is a brief update on current events followed by a reissuing of the capital project update that I sent out on December 29th.

Capital Project Presentations

The capital project vote will be on January 16th from 7 am until 9 pm in the High School gymnasium.  We continue to try to get the word out to all voters about the details of the propositions and the cost to taxpayers.  We have done presentations during school board meetings and we have done presentations at the Gardiner Library, the Elting Library, Water Street Market, Woodland Pond, the weekly senior citizen lunch at the NP Community Center, and at the Rotary Club luncheon.  Only one community presentation remains.  That will be held at the Jewish Community Center in New Paltz at 7 pm on Monday, January 13th.

On Wednesday January 8th we held a “coffee with the board members” session followed by a full capital project presentation.  Both of these activities gave the public the opportunity to ask any questions they might have about the propositions.  You can watch the full presentation and the question and answer period by clicking on this link.

Early Voting or Absentee Ballots

Since we mailed home the 8 page newsletter about the capital project around the first of the year, we have had a lot of people come to the district office to vote early.  Some people have sent letters to us requesting early voting ballots or absentee ballots and we have mailed them.

The vote is coming up very soon.  All completed ballots must be received in the District Office by 5 pm on January 16th to be counted in the vote.  So, if you have not yet returned your ballot to us, I encourage you not to put it in the mail but to bring it directly to the District Office at 1 Eugene L. Brown Drive.  That way we know it will get here on time.

While you do need a reason to vote with an absentee ballot, you do not need one to vote through the use of an early voter ballot.  If you wish to vote early, you can come to the district office M-F between 8 am and 4 pm to request, receive, and cast an early ballot.

The Upcoming Budget Season - New Information about the tax cap

We don’t typically start talking publicly about the budget for the following school year until February when we get our first look at the Governor’s proposal for state financial aid to schools.  This year, however, we have had some early discussions on the outlook for the 2025-2026 school year because we realize that a successful capital project vote will also increase taxes.

An early look at expenses, assuming we offer everything we offer this year again next year (a rollover budget) indicates that our expenses will be going up a substantial amount.  This is not a surprise since the cost of everything is going up.

While we don’t know what we will get for state aid, it is likely that we will not get more money from the state than we did last year.  Any increased revenue that we get will likely come from an increase in the tax levy.  The amount a school can increase the tax levy is based on a complicated formula put out by the state.  It is called a 2% tax cap but it is not really a 2% tax cap.  It really depends on the results of a complicated formula.  Here is a really good video that sort of explains the 2% tax cap law.  The video is 9 years old but it is easy to understand and still worth watching.

I bring this up now because our preliminary tax cap calculations indicate that the tax cap will be in the neighborhood of 3% for the coming year.  So, as I have said during all of the capital project presentations, school taxes will be going up regardless of what happens with the capital project vote.

A roughly 3% increase in the tax levy will be needed to pay our bills next year.  That does not mean that your taxes will go up by exactly 3%, it means that the school will take an additional 3% from the community.  All taxpayers will pay a portion of this increase based in part on the assessed value of their property, not on the market value of their property.

So, the tax levy is going to go up by about 3%.  If proposition #1 passes then the tax levy will go up by an additional estimated amount of 1.16%.  If proposition #1 and #2 pass, then the tax levy will go up by about 2.39% in addition to the 3%.  If proposition #1 and #3 pass, the tax levy will go up about 3.96% in addition to the estimated 3% increase.  If all three propositions pass, the tax levy will go up by about 5.15% in addition to the estimated 3% tax increase.

I tell you all of this because I think it is important for you to have all of the facts as you make the best decision for you and your family on January 16th.

Spring Continuing education Program

I am pleased to announce that we again got a great response from the community when we asked for people to run continuing education offerings.  We anticipate putting out a brochure next week after the January 15th school board meeting that lists the more than 25 courses we plan to offer from February through April.  I will send you a special community update next week with a link to the brochure which will include links to sign up for courses.  Thank you to the community for stepping up once again.

Harlem Wizards

Lots of fun things go on in our school community.  One that is particularly worth noting.is the upcoming basketball game between the Harlem Wizards and the NPCSD faculty and staff.

The MS PTA ran this event last year.  It was great fun and they made a lot of money to support MS field trips.  Please consider coming out and supporting your faculty as they defeat the Wizards and raise money for a good cause.

Science Awards

Our students are accomplishing great things all across the district.  It is impossible to point out all of the significant successes, but there is one group that I do want to highlight today.  Our high school science research class, under the direction of teacher Kurt Ulrich with assistance from teacher Brennan Woods, have presented their research projects and we have some award winners.

Joseph Birnbaum: “The Effects of Wildfire Intensity on the Regeneration of Pinus rigida Mill (Pitch Pine) on the Shawangunk Ridge”

Cora Shuryn: “Stenomatic: Designing An Open Source Stenotype Keyboard”

Wendy Zhao: “The Effect of Leaf Age on the Photosynthetic Rate of Lettuce”

Congratulations to these individuals and to all of the students in the science research class. A special shout out is appropriate for senior Joe Birnbaum who was named a Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar by the Society for Science.

Only 300 high school seniors across the nation are selected for this prestigious honor each year so this is a major accomplishment.

That concludes my update for today.  As always, please feel free to email me or call me if you have any questions.  

Regards,

Stephen Gratto - Superintendent

Capital Project Update from December 29, 2024

Dear Faculty, Staff, Parents, Students, and Community Members,

The capital project vote will be taking place on January 16, 2025.   I am hopeful that all voters are fully aware of the details associated with the three capital project propositions.  However, we continue to do our best to educate the community on what their options are.

At the school board meeting on December 18th, we received a presentation about the capital project from Mike Lantier, our school architect.  The slide show from his presentation can be found by clicking this link.  We also received a presentation from Beth Furguson, our fiscal advisor.  The slide show from her financial presentation can be found by clicking this link..  If you would like to watch the video of the capital project presentation from the board meeting, you can access that by clicking this link.  The capital project presentation starts at the beginning of the video so it will be easy to find.

A capital project newsletter will be mailed out to the home addresses of all residents of our school district within the next couple of days.  If you do not receive this newsletter in the mail by January 3rd or 4th, please send me an email and I will make sure you get a copy.  It should tell you everything you might want to know about the propositions, the cost, and the best way to vote including how to get early ballots or absentee ballots.

We continue to have capital project information sessions around the community.  We have done outreach at the Gardiner LIbrary, the Elting Library, the Rotary Club, and the Water Street Market.  Upcoming presentations before the vote on January 16 include.

In previous community updates, I have given a great deal of information about the capital project as well as an early look at the financial outlook for the 2025-2026 school year.  I think it is important that community members consider both of these issues as they make decisions about how to vote.  Here are a few facts that I think are important to keep in mind.

1. We  are facing a third very difficult budget season in a row.  Over the last two years we have reduced many expenses and we have eliminated over 25 positions.  The 2025-2026 budget looks very difficult as well, as early projections indicate that we will have to again reduce over $2,000,000 from the budget which will definitely mean that more staff positions will be eliminated.

2. There is never a good time to do a capital project because they are always expensive.  However, voters need to realize that, as with their own homes, taking good care of facilities is very important because if proper maintenance is not done now, it will just cost more to fix things later.  Since the prices of everything are going up, the costs of repairs and upgrades will never be cheaper than they are right now.

3. Repairs and upgrades need to be done.  Doing them as part of a capital project rather than as part of our yearly operating budget makes sense because the school gets a significant amount of state aid on capital projects that it does not get on repairs done through the general budget.  Specifically, here is the actual cost of the four possible outcomes of the capital project vote and their cost to tax payers:

4. A successful capital project vote will not significantly impact the 2025-2026 budget.  However, certain parts of the capital project propositions will have yearly legacy costs that will impact future operating budgets.  We continue to refine our estimates of the legacy costs associated with the long term operation/maintenance of an aquatics center and the long term maintenance of an artificial turf field.  At the last board meeting, the architect presented a couple of new slides that you likely have not seen before.

Artificial Turf

For those of you who have questions about exactly what would go into a recycled rubber artificial turf, here is a diagram.

Here are the costs of artificial turf field:

It is worth noting that the yearly cost of the artificial turf field is only $8,000 compared to an estimated $14,000 that we pay now to maintain the grass field.  However, the cost to replace the artificial turf every 12-15 years more than offsets the annual saving in maintenance..

Aquatics Center

Here are the estimated costs for maintaining the aquatics center:

Here it is worth noting that the cost of staffing and maintaining a pool would need to be figured into future budgets, probably starting with the 2027-2028 budget.

5. Many people have asked us questions about all features of the capital project.  I have answered many of those questions above, but here are a few more common ones that I have not yet addressed in this update:

Why have a vote on January 16th when the weather might be bad?

After much deliberation, the board decided to have the vote in January rather than do it along with the regular budget vote in May.  It takes a very long time to get approval for a capital project and some of the fixes being proposed in the capital project are immediate needs.  We were informed by our architect that if we could get the vote finalized before February we could begin work in the summer of 2026.  After February, it was likely that most of the project would be pushed out to a start date of summer 2027.  Being able to start the project up to a year earlier is the main reason the board decided to have the vote in January.

It is true that having a vote that is separate from the May budget vote will cost the district over $10,000.  However, the board felt this was a reasonable price to pay to get necessary work done up to a year earlier.  Votes in the fall or winter are not at all uncommon.  Ellenville and Rondout each just had capital project votes in December.  We had hoped to have our vote in December as well, however our vote was pushed back until January because the board of elections could not free up the voting machines for us until January due to the recent presidential election.  Rondout and Ellenvile were able to have December elections because they own their own voting machines.  We do not own our own voting machines.

How can one vote by absentee ballot or by early mail

We realize that a January vote might be difficult for some.  The weather in January will likely not be as accommodating as the weather in May.  Some people may be out of town in January and others might not want to brave the cold.  Absentee Ballot Applications and Early Mail Ballot Applications are now available and are  posted on the school website... If you would like an Absentee Ballot Application or Early Mail Ballot Application mailed to you, please contact the District Clerk via email at sermo@newpaltz.k12.ny.us or regular mail at District Clerk, New Paltz Central School District, 196 Main Street, New Paltz, NY 12561.

All Absentee Ballot Applications and Early Mail Ballot Applications must be received by the District Clerk by January 9, 2025 if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or by January 15, 2025 if the Absentee or Early Mail Ballot will be picked up personally. Absentee Ballots and Early Mail Ballots issued by the District Clerk in person may only be given to the voter.  By law, the original signature of the absentee voter/early mail voter is required on the application, and the application must be delivered to the District Clerk by mail or in person. Applications cannot be accepted electronically. All Absentee Ballots/Early Mail Ballots must be received by the District Clerk no later than 5:00 PM on Thursday, January 16, 2025. For further information, please contact the District Clerk at 845-256-4020 or sermo@newpaltz.k12.ny.us.

Why was a capital project for a pool put up in these difficult financial times?

I have only worked for the NPCSD for two years, but during this time the board has proven to me that they truly listen to what the public has to say.  During the time when the structure of a capital project was being discussed, a large number of vocal swim enthusiasts came out and let their opinions be known.  While this is definitely a difficult financial and political  time for a school to consider a large expenditure, it is true that a pool will never be less expensive than it is now.  For these reasons, the board decided to put to a vote what has apparently been discussed in the community for many years.  The board made the decision to allow this issue to come to the community for a vote so that the issue can be settled by the voters.  My job, and the job of the school board, is now to educate the public on all facets of the capital project, including the pool, so the voters can make the best decisions for themselves and their families.

How will we deal with the closing of the SUNY pool?

For many years the NPCSD swim teams have been practicing and competing at the pool at SUNY.  We appreciate SUNY allowing us to rent their pool at the price of only about $5,300 per year. It is true that SUNY will soon be closing their pool for an extended period of time for renovations.  On November 13, at a meeting with local officials including Dr. Wheeler and other SUNY leaders, we were told that the SUNY pool will likely be closed for three years starting in summer or fall 2026.  This means that we will need to find a place for our swim teams to practice and compete for those three school years.  I believe that many people think that the capital project will help solve this or mitigate this problem.  However, I think it is important for everyone to know that, even if proposition #3 is approved by the voters on January 16, the pool will not be completed until sometime in 2028.  Therefore, building our own pool will likely not help solve the problem of SUNY closing their pool for three years.  For the three years that the SUNY pool is closed or we are building a school pool, our swim teams will have to practice and compete at another high school, college, or YMCA in our area.

Will students receive swim lessons if we build a school aquatics center?

During the time when people were advocating for including a pool in the capital project, the importance of all children learning to swim was often brought up.  The board definitely agreed with this sentiment and they do want all of our children to be safe.  However, it is very important for the community to understand that swim lessons will not be offered to students during the school days on a regular basis.  There is simply not enough time in the school day for elementary or middle school students to be bussed to the high school for regular swim lessons.  In addition, there are no plans to require high school students to take swimming lessons during the school day as part of their physical education programs.

While we won’t be requiring students to take swim lessons, if a pool is built we hope to offer swim electives to high school students during the school day.  The total number of electives might vary, but it is likely we would offer two or three electives per day

Our swim teams would use the pool for practices and competitions.  The girls team competes in the fall and the boys team competes in the winter.

Will community members get to use the pool?

The school board believes that our beautiful school facilities should be used by the public.  That is one reason why the district has recently created a community continuing education program.

The pool would be available for rent to outside organizations or for use by a school continuing education program.  It is likely that some organizations would want to organize swim lessons, adult swim, and open swim sessions.  However, other than possibly through a school continuing education program, the district does not plan to organize options for the community to use the pool.  Community pool use will depend on outside organizations coming forward to rent the pool and organize the sessions.

We are contemplating building an 8 lane pool and an 8 lane track.  Will we be able to host sports events that will help pay the cost of building these facilities?

The answer to this question is a big “maybe”.  The school does pay some money to send our track teams and swim teams to big tournaments at other schools and facilities.  It has been suggested by many that our school could make money by hosting these events.  While this may be possible, it is important for all the voters to understand that this is not something the school is promising or advocating for.  We are not counting on generating these funds and they do not figure into any of our cost estimates.  Voters should not count on these funds being generated as they consider whether or not to support the capital project propositions.

Is an artificial  turf field a good idea?

This is also a decision voters will have to make for themselves.  We have heard from many people that they are concerned about the environmental and safety impacts of artificial turf.  The board is aware of these concerns and considered them fully as they debated on whether or not to include artificial turf in the capital project.  The final decision to include turf was based on equity and availability.  

Right now, the Floyd Patterson field is used only for home football games.  Five or six football games do a lot of damage to the field and therefore other sports do not have access to the field.  However, there are many other sports and teams who would love to play on the big field under the lights.  By going with artificial turf, this would allow the field to be used constantly by football, lacrosse, and soccer teams at all levels.

So, it is easy to see both sides of the argument.  Voters should look into the research done on turf fields and weigh that information vs. the cost of putting in turf and the availability benefits to a large number of student athletes.  

Why were solar panels and heat pumps not included in the capital project?

This question was also brought up repeatedly during facilities meetings and capital project discussions.  The capital project does include replacing all of the lights in the district with energy saving LED lights, however some have expressed that this does not do enough to help the environment.

It is important to note that solar panels and heat pumps were strongly considered by both the facilities committee and the school board throughout the process.  Both groups relied heavily on the advice of our architects from H2M.  Their advice was quite clear.  While there might be grants that would help with the purchasing of some solar panels, these grants are not something we can count on.  Furthermore, an analysis of the return on investment, taking into consideration the very low rate we pay for electricity, indicated that it would take too long to realize any return on our investment.  While everyone understands and acknowledges the value of heat pumps, our architect advised us that it is not really possible at this time to heat and cool an entire school with mini-splits.  Also, given the fact that our boilers still have several good years of life in them the board decided it was better to wait until our existing  boilers are closer to the end of their lives and when the technology would better enable us to use renewable resources to heat and cool the schools.

Are our taxes going to go up in addition to increases caused by the capital project?

Yes.  All public schools in New York State are subject to the 2% tax cap.  However, the 2% tax cap is not really a 2% tax cap but rather it is calculated by each district each year using a complicated formula.  In fact, the 2% tax cap is almost never 2%.  Here is a chart showing our tax levy increases over the last several years.

Based on history, I expect that the tax levy for the 2025-2026 school year will increase by somewhere between 3% and 4% over the 2024-2025 school year.  This increase will be in addition to any tax increase caused by a successful capital project vote.

Thank you for reading this capital project update.  We hope that our capital project newsletter being mailed out to all district residents will answer a lot of questions.  However, we believe these community email updates are valuable as well.  If you know anyone who is not receiving my occasional email updates, please share this link with them so they can also read this information.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.  As always, if you have any questions, please email or call me.

Regards,

Stephen Gratto - Superintendent

January 10, 2025

Dear Faculty, Staff, Parents, Students, and Community Members,

Happy New Year everyone.  School is back in session and there is a lot going on.  Here is a brief update on current events followed by a reissuing of the capital project update that I sent out on December 29th.

Capital Project Presentations

The capital project vote will be on January 16th from 7 am until 9 pm in the High School gymnasium.  We continue to try to get the word out to all voters about the details of the propositions and the cost to taxpayers.  We have done presentations during school board meetings and we have done presentations at the Gardiner Library, the Elting Library, Water Street Market, Woodland Pond, the weekly senior citizen lunch at the NP Community Center, and at the Rotary Club luncheon.  Only one community presentation remains.  That will be held at the Jewish Community Center in New Paltz at 7 pm on Monday, January 13th.

On Wednesday January 8th we held a “coffee with the board members” session followed by a full capital project presentation.  Both of these activities gave the public the opportunity to ask any questions they might have about the propositions.  You can watch the full presentation and the question and answer period by clicking on this link.

Early Voting or Absentee Ballots

Since we mailed home the 8 page newsletter about the capital project around the first of the year, we have had a lot of people come to the district office to vote early.  Some people have sent letters to us requesting early voting ballots or absentee ballots and we have mailed them.

The vote is coming up very soon.  All completed ballots must be received in the District Office by 5 pm on January 16th to be counted in the vote.  So, if you have not yet returned your ballot to us, I encourage you not to put it in the mail but to bring it directly to the District Office at 1 Eugene L. Brown Drive.  That way we know it will get here on time.

While you do need a reason to vote with an absentee ballot, you do not need one to vote through the use of an early voter ballot.  If you wish to vote early, you can come to the district office M-F between 8 am and 4 pm to request, receive, and cast an early ballot.

The Upcoming Budget Season - New Information about the tax cap

We don’t typically start talking publicly about the budget for the following school year until February when we get our first look at the Governor’s proposal for state financial aid to schools.  This year, however, we have had some early discussions on the outlook for the 2025-2026 school year because we realize that a successful capital project vote will also increase taxes.

An early look at expenses, assuming we offer everything we offer this year again next year (a rollover budget) indicates that our expenses will be going up a substantial amount.  This is not a surprise since the cost of everything is going up.

While we don’t know what we will get for state aid, it is likely that we will not get more money from the state than we did last year.  Any increased revenue that we get will likely come from an increase in the tax levy.  The amount a school can increase the tax levy is based on a complicated formula put out by the state.  It is called a 2% tax cap but it is not really a 2% tax cap.  It really depends on the results of a complicated formula.  Here is a really good video that sort of explains the 2% tax cap law.  The video is 9 years old but it is easy to understand and still worth watching.

I bring this up now because our preliminary tax cap calculations indicate that the tax cap will be in the neighborhood of 3% for the coming year.  So, as I have said during all of the capital project presentations, school taxes will be going up regardless of what happens with the capital project vote.

A roughly 3% increase in the tax levy will be needed to pay our bills next year.  That does not mean that your taxes will go up by exactly 3%, it means that the school will take an additional 3% from the community.  All taxpayers will pay a portion of this increase based in part on the assessed value of their property, not on the market value of their property.

So, the tax levy is going to go up by about 3%.  If proposition #1 passes then the tax levy will go up by an additional estimated amount of 1.16%.  If proposition #1 and #2 pass, then the tax levy will go up by about 2.39% in addition to the 3%.  If proposition #1 and #3 pass, the tax levy will go up about 3.96% in addition to the estimated 3% increase.  If all three propositions pass, the tax levy will go up by about 5.15% in addition to the estimated 3% tax increase.

I tell you all of this because I think it is important for you to have all of the facts as you make the best decision for you and your family on January 16th.

Spring Continuing education Program

I am pleased to announce that we again got a great response from the community when we asked for people to run continuing education offerings.  We anticipate putting out a brochure next week after the January 15th school board meeting that lists the more than 25 courses we plan to offer from February through April.  I will send you a special community update next week with a link to the brochure which will include links to sign up for courses.  Thank you to the community for stepping up once again.

Harlem Wizards

Lots of fun things go on in our school community.  One that is particularly worth noting.is the upcoming basketball game between the Harlem Wizards and the NPCSD faculty and staff.

The MS PTA ran this event last year.  It was great fun and they made a lot of money to support MS field trips.  Please consider coming out and supporting your faculty as they defeat the Wizards and raise money for a good cause.

Science Awards

Our students are accomplishing great things all across the district.  It is impossible to point out all of the significant successes, but there is one group that I do want to highlight today.  Our high school science research class, under the direction of teacher Kurt Ulrich with assistance from teacher Brennan Woods, have presented their research projects and we have some award winners.

Joseph Birnbaum: “The Effects of Wildfire Intensity on the Regeneration of Pinus rigida Mill (Pitch Pine) on the Shawangunk Ridge”

Cora Shuryn: “Stenomatic: Designing An Open Source Stenotype Keyboard”

Wendy Zhao: “The Effect of Leaf Age on the Photosynthetic Rate of Lettuce”

Congratulations to these individuals and to all of the students in the science research class. A special shout out is appropriate for senior Joe Birnbaum who was named a Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar by the Society for Science.

Only 300 high school seniors across the nation are selected for this prestigious honor each year so this is a major accomplishment.

That concludes my update for today.  As always, please feel free to email me or call me if you have any questions.  

Regards,

Stephen Gratto - Superintendent

Capital Project Update from December 29, 2024

Dear Faculty, Staff, Parents, Students, and Community Members,

The capital project vote will be taking place on January 16, 2025.   I am hopeful that all voters are fully aware of the details associated with the three capital project propositions.  However, we continue to do our best to educate the community on what their options are.

At the school board meeting on December 18th, we received a presentation about the capital project from Mike Lantier, our school architect.  The slide show from his presentation can be found by clicking this link.  We also received a presentation from Beth Furguson, our fiscal advisor.  The slide show from her financial presentation can be found by clicking this link..  If you would like to watch the video of the capital project presentation from the board meeting, you can access that by clicking this link.  The capital project presentation starts at the beginning of the video so it will be easy to find.

A capital project newsletter will be mailed out to the home addresses of all residents of our school district within the next couple of days.  If you do not receive this newsletter in the mail by January 3rd or 4th, please send me an email and I will make sure you get a copy.  It should tell you everything you might want to know about the propositions, the cost, and the best way to vote including how to get early ballots or absentee ballots.

We continue to have capital project information sessions around the community.  We have done outreach at the Gardiner LIbrary, the Elting Library, the Rotary Club, and the Water Street Market.  Upcoming presentations before the vote on January 16 include.

In previous community updates, I have given a great deal of information about the capital project as well as an early look at the financial outlook for the 2025-2026 school year.  I think it is important that community members consider both of these issues as they make decisions about how to vote.  Here are a few facts that I think are important to keep in mind.

1. We  are facing a third very difficult budget season in a row.  Over the last two years we have reduced many expenses and we have eliminated over 25 positions.  The 2025-2026 budget looks very difficult as well, as early projections indicate that we will have to again reduce over $2,000,000 from the budget which will definitely mean that more staff positions will be eliminated.

2. There is never a good time to do a capital project because they are always expensive.  However, voters need to realize that, as with their own homes, taking good care of facilities is very important because if proper maintenance is not done now, it will just cost more to fix things later.  Since the prices of everything are going up, the costs of repairs and upgrades will never be cheaper than they are right now.

3. Repairs and upgrades need to be done.  Doing them as part of a capital project rather than as part of our yearly operating budget makes sense because the school gets a significant amount of state aid on capital projects that it does not get on repairs done through the general budget.  Specifically, here is the actual cost of the four possible outcomes of the capital project vote and their cost to tax payers:

4. A successful capital project vote will not significantly impact the 2025-2026 budget.  However, certain parts of the capital project propositions will have yearly legacy costs that will impact future operating budgets.  We continue to refine our estimates of the legacy costs associated with the long term operation/maintenance of an aquatics center and the long term maintenance of an artificial turf field.  At the last board meeting, the architect presented a couple of new slides that you likely have not seen before.

Artificial Turf

For those of you who have questions about exactly what would go into a recycled rubber artificial turf, here is a diagram.

Here are the costs of artificial turf field:

It is worth noting that the yearly cost of the artificial turf field is only $8,000 compared to an estimated $14,000 that we pay now to maintain the grass field.  However, the cost to replace the artificial turf every 12-15 years more than offsets the annual saving in maintenance..

Aquatics Center

Here are the estimated costs for maintaining the aquatics center:

Here it is worth noting that the cost of staffing and maintaining a pool would need to be figured into future budgets, probably starting with the 2027-2028 budget.

5. Many people have asked us questions about all features of the capital project.  I have answered many of those questions above, but here are a few more common ones that I have not yet addressed in this update:

Why have a vote on January 16th when the weather might be bad?

After much deliberation, the board decided to have the vote in January rather than do it along with the regular budget vote in May.  It takes a very long time to get approval for a capital project and some of the fixes being proposed in the capital project are immediate needs.  We were informed by our architect that if we could get the vote finalized before February we could begin work in the summer of 2026.  After February, it was likely that most of the project would be pushed out to a start date of summer 2027.  Being able to start the project up to a year earlier is the main reason the board decided to have the vote in January.

It is true that having a vote that is separate from the May budget vote will cost the district over $10,000.  However, the board felt this was a reasonable price to pay to get necessary work done up to a year earlier.  Votes in the fall or winter are not at all uncommon.  Ellenville and Rondout each just had capital project votes in December.  We had hoped to have our vote in December as well, however our vote was pushed back until January because the board of elections could not free up the voting machines for us until January due to the recent presidential election.  Rondout and Ellenvile were able to have December elections because they own their own voting machines.  We do not own our own voting machines.

How can one vote by absentee ballot or by early mail

We realize that a January vote might be difficult for some.  The weather in January will likely not be as accommodating as the weather in May.  Some people may be out of town in January and others might not want to brave the cold.  Absentee Ballot Applications and Early Mail Ballot Applications are now available and are  posted on the school website... If you would like an Absentee Ballot Application or Early Mail Ballot Application mailed to you, please contact the District Clerk via email at sermo@newpaltz.k12.ny.us or regular mail at District Clerk, New Paltz Central School District, 196 Main Street, New Paltz, NY 12561.

All Absentee Ballot Applications and Early Mail Ballot Applications must be received by the District Clerk by January 9, 2025 if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or by January 15, 2025 if the Absentee or Early Mail Ballot will be picked up personally. Absentee Ballots and Early Mail Ballots issued by the District Clerk in person may only be given to the voter.  By law, the original signature of the absentee voter/early mail voter is required on the application, and the application must be delivered to the District Clerk by mail or in person. Applications cannot be accepted electronically. All Absentee Ballots/Early Mail Ballots must be received by the District Clerk no later than 5:00 PM on Thursday, January 16, 2025. For further information, please contact the District Clerk at 845-256-4020 or sermo@newpaltz.k12.ny.us.

Why was a capital project for a pool put up in these difficult financial times?

I have only worked for the NPCSD for two years, but during this time the board has proven to me that they truly listen to what the public has to say.  During the time when the structure of a capital project was being discussed, a large number of vocal swim enthusiasts came out and let their opinions be known.  While this is definitely a difficult financial and political  time for a school to consider a large expenditure, it is true that a pool will never be less expensive than it is now.  For these reasons, the board decided to put to a vote what has apparently been discussed in the community for many years.  The board made the decision to allow this issue to come to the community for a vote so that the issue can be settled by the voters.  My job, and the job of the school board, is now to educate the public on all facets of the capital project, including the pool, so the voters can make the best decisions for themselves and their families.

How will we deal with the closing of the SUNY pool?

For many years the NPCSD swim teams have been practicing and competing at the pool at SUNY.  We appreciate SUNY allowing us to rent their pool at the price of only about $5,300 per year. It is true that SUNY will soon be closing their pool for an extended period of time for renovations.  On November 13, at a meeting with local officials including Dr. Wheeler and other SUNY leaders, we were told that the SUNY pool will likely be closed for three years starting in summer or fall 2026.  This means that we will need to find a place for our swim teams to practice and compete for those three school years.  I believe that many people think that the capital project will help solve this or mitigate this problem.  However, I think it is important for everyone to know that, even if proposition #3 is approved by the voters on January 16, the pool will not be completed until sometime in 2028.  Therefore, building our own pool will likely not help solve the problem of SUNY closing their pool for three years.  For the three years that the SUNY pool is closed or we are building a school pool, our swim teams will have to practice and compete at another high school, college, or YMCA in our area.

Will students receive swim lessons if we build a school aquatics center?

During the time when people were advocating for including a pool in the capital project, the importance of all children learning to swim was often brought up.  The board definitely agreed with this sentiment and they do want all of our children to be safe.  However, it is very important for the community to understand that swim lessons will not be offered to students during the school days on a regular basis.  There is simply not enough time in the school day for elementary or middle school students to be bussed to the high school for regular swim lessons.  In addition, there are no plans to require high school students to take swimming lessons during the school day as part of their physical education programs.

While we won’t be requiring students to take swim lessons, if a pool is built we hope to offer swim electives to high school students during the school day.  The total number of electives might vary, but it is likely we would offer two or three electives per day

Our swim teams would use the pool for practices and competitions.  The girls team competes in the fall and the boys team competes in the winter.

Will community members get to use the pool?

The school board believes that our beautiful school facilities should be used by the public.  That is one reason why the district has recently created a community continuing education program.

The pool would be available for rent to outside organizations or for use by a school continuing education program.  It is likely that some organizations would want to organize swim lessons, adult swim, and open swim sessions.  However, other than possibly through a school continuing education program, the district does not plan to organize options for the community to use the pool.  Community pool use will depend on outside organizations coming forward to rent the pool and organize the sessions.

We are contemplating building an 8 lane pool and an 8 lane track.  Will we be able to host sports events that will help pay the cost of building these facilities?

The answer to this question is a big “maybe”.  The school does pay some money to send our track teams and swim teams to big tournaments at other schools and facilities.  It has been suggested by many that our school could make money by hosting these events.  While this may be possible, it is important for all the voters to understand that this is not something the school is promising or advocating for.  We are not counting on generating these funds and they do not figure into any of our cost estimates.  Voters should not count on these funds being generated as they consider whether or not to support the capital project propositions.

Is an artificial  turf field a good idea?

This is also a decision voters will have to make for themselves.  We have heard from many people that they are concerned about the environmental and safety impacts of artificial turf.  The board is aware of these concerns and considered them fully as they debated on whether or not to include artificial turf in the capital project.  The final decision to include turf was based on equity and availability.  

Right now, the Floyd Patterson field is used only for home football games.  Five or six football games do a lot of damage to the field and therefore other sports do not have access to the field.  However, there are many other sports and teams who would love to play on the big field under the lights.  By going with artificial turf, this would allow the field to be used constantly by football, lacrosse, and soccer teams at all levels.

So, it is easy to see both sides of the argument.  Voters should look into the research done on turf fields and weigh that information vs. the cost of putting in turf and the availability benefits to a large number of student athletes.  

Why were solar panels and heat pumps not included in the capital project?

This question was also brought up repeatedly during facilities meetings and capital project discussions.  The capital project does include replacing all of the lights in the district with energy saving LED lights, however some have expressed that this does not do enough to help the environment.

It is important to note that solar panels and heat pumps were strongly considered by both the facilities committee and the school board throughout the process.  Both groups relied heavily on the advice of our architects from H2M.  Their advice was quite clear.  While there might be grants that would help with the purchasing of some solar panels, these grants are not something we can count on.  Furthermore, an analysis of the return on investment, taking into consideration the very low rate we pay for electricity, indicated that it would take too long to realize any return on our investment.  While everyone understands and acknowledges the value of heat pumps, our architect advised us that it is not really possible at this time to heat and cool an entire school with mini-splits.  Also, given the fact that our boilers still have several good years of life in them the board decided it was better to wait until our existing  boilers are closer to the end of their lives and when the technology would better enable us to use renewable resources to heat and cool the schools.

Are our taxes going to go up in addition to increases caused by the capital project?

Yes.  All public schools in New York State are subject to the 2% tax cap.  However, the 2% tax cap is not really a 2% tax cap but rather it is calculated by each district each year using a complicated formula.  In fact, the 2% tax cap is almost never 2%.  Here is a chart showing our tax levy increases over the last several years.

Based on history, I expect that the tax levy for the 2025-2026 school year will increase by somewhere between 3% and 4% over the 2024-2025 school year.  This increase will be in addition to any tax increase caused by a successful capital project vote.

Thank you for reading this capital project update.  We hope that our capital project newsletter being mailed out to all district residents will answer a lot of questions.  However, we believe these community email updates are valuable as well.  If you know anyone who is not receiving my occasional email updates, please share this link with them so they can also read this information.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.  As always, if you have any questions, please email or call me.

Regards,

Stephen Gratto - Superintendent