Schools

Polls Open: Bedford School Budget and Board Election Voter's Guide

A look at this year's Bedford school budget and board races.

Here's a run down of what you should know for Tuesday's school board and budget votes in the Bedford Central School District:

Voting

Polls will be open on Tuesday, May 18, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Your polling place will be whichever elementary school that you are covered by in its attendance area. For example, if you have children who go to West Patent Elementary School, then you will vote there. If you are voting absentee, your ballot must be received by the District Clerk by 5 p.m. 

Find out what's happening in Chappaqua-Mount Kiscowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Budget

The proposed 2010-11 budget for Bedford district residents is $116,481,460, which is a budget-to-budget increase from last year about 1.7 percent. There is a tax levy increase overall of 1.54 percent. However, this rate varies by municipality. Bedford residents  would have a 4.45 percent tax rate increase, while Mount Kisco residents would have an increase of just 1.82 percent. This discrepancy is due to the equalization rate used. It is used "to convert a town's taxable assessed value into full value (FV) for apportioning the tax levy to each town," according to the district.

Find out what's happening in Chappaqua-Mount Kiscowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

One major area of the budget to note in education: close to 20 positions will be eliminated. Notable cuts include three full-time Fox Lane Middle School Teachers, an English As A Second Language (ESL) instructor at the elementary school level and three instructional assistants at Fox Lane High School. 

If the budget is defeated, and the district puts up another budget vote and is defeated again, then the district will go with a contingency budget. This year's contingency is $114,418,225 with a spending decrease of 0.10 percent and increase across-the-board cuts totaling $2,063,235. 

School Board

Four candidates are running for the Board of Education. Two are running unopposed: Mount Kisco resident Suzanne Grant - who is running for Donna Marino's open seat - and Pound Ridge resident and incumbent Erika Long.

One seat, which is being vacated by Paula Kumar, is being contested by two Bedford residents: Michael Solomon and Jennifer Gerken. 

Budgeting, taxes and the compensation packages of teachers have been notable issues in this election.


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