FULTON, NY – Residents in the Fulton City School District weighed in in favor of the proposed 2008-09 spending plan and bus proposition at the polls Tuesday.
At this time, however, it appears voters may have rejected Fulton Public Library’s request for an additional $50,000 in operating funds for the coming year.
Superintendent Bill Lynch explained that the $57,238,244 budget passed with 612 votes in favor and 547 votes opposed.
A proposition that will allow the district to purchase a 17-passenger handicap-accessible bus for its transportation fleet was approved with 586 voters in favor and 491 votes opposed. The district will receive a 90 percent reimbursement from the state for the purchase, meaning that the bus will cost the district $6,700 over the five-year repayment period.
Lynch noted that the proposition request to increase the library’s funding from $40,000 to $90,000 is on the fence until the recount today.
“The library vote is close but it is down by one vote,” Lynch said. “But there are six challenge votes out.”
Lynch said the library vote came in with 543 votes in favor of the library funding and 544 opposed. Challenge votes, he explained, are votes that came in but the voter names were not in the rolls.
“We have to verify that the people are registered voters in the district before we can count those votes,” he said.
If the six votes are included in the total, Lynch said the challenge votes could affect the outcome.
In the Fulton Board of Education election, voters supported one new and two incumbent candidates for the three available seats on the board. The voter totals for the five candidates gave:
- Dan Pawlewicz – 745 votes
- Robert Ireland – 723 votes
- Rae Howard – 590 votes
- Pete Tambroni – 569 votes
- David Carvey – 455 votes
Pawlewicz, Ireland and Howard will be sworn in for new three-year terms in July.
“Overall, it appears we had more residents who participated in the vote this year,” Lynch said.
In 2006, 1,036 voters came to the polls. In 2007, that number dipped to 1,021. This year’s vote saw 1,159 votes. For the past five years, however, approximately 10 percent of more than 11,000 eligible voters have come to the polls to vote on the district‘s budget.
“We are pleased that our budget passed but we recognize that it continues to pass by a narrow margin,” Lynch said. “The vote is reflective of the reach challenges that the community faces.”
Lynch noted while the budget passed by a narrow margin, it is comparable to the margin that the district has seen for a couple of years.
“We are also glad to be able to purchase the new bus,” Lynch added, pointing out that the new bus will replace an aging bus in the district‘s fleet. “That will help us keep a fleet that is running in good order to provide safe transportation for our students.”
Lynch also congratulated the three candidates who secured positions on the board of education.
“We also thank Dave Carvey and Pete Tambroni for running,” Lynch said. “Everyone received a substantial amount of votes. It was nice that we had enough candidates to give the community choices in their candidates. It gave us a good race for our board seats.”
Lynch noted that the recount will start this morning to see if the library vote changes. Results should be available later today, he said.
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I would like to take the time to thank the voters for coming out and supporting the budget and the budget proposals. The board and members of the budget committee worked extremely hard to develop a fair and comprehensive budget. It is difficult to understand how much actually goes into that whole process. I encourage everyone to get involved and take part. We are also very fortunate to have a group of very dedicated and qualified candidates to choose from for board members. It was and has been my privilege to have had the chance to take part in this process and I wish all the best to Dan, Rae and Bob, they are all very dedicated and I am sure they will work tirelessly to serve our schools and our kids. Thank you to everyone that voted and supported me and the other board candidates.
Respectfully
David Carvey
You’re a good man Dave!
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all within the Fulton School District community who have shown their support for me with their vote of confidence as I continue to represent them on the Board for the next three years. As a parent, educator, property owner and lifetime member of this Community, I believe I bring a wide and realistic perspective to the Board. It is with great pride and commitment that I look forward to the challenges of this next term, valuing your questions and concerns, while making a contribution to the education of our children who are our future! Thanks again!
Sincerely,
Dan Pawlewicz
I absolutely believe that a strong teacher presence is key to the future of our community. We have many excellent teachers here. I personally had benefited endlessly from the teachers of the late 1950’s thru the 60’s-a watershed period of classy educators for whom-with minor exception- teaching was a calling not a golden parachute at age 55. I do think that taxpayers presently are bending under the sheer growing weight of previously negotiated items in the yearly budget:high salaries,generous retirements and other excessive benefits. Teachers/administrators should not become the economically elite class they have become.It is a caste system of sorts. They should mirror the status and wealth of the collective community-if Fulton is struggling to pay its bills and stay on budget so must schools.Perhaps salary increases will have to be 0% for a year or two? It leaves taxpayers little recourse but to vote down needed capital/material improvements instead and- in Fulton’s case- the sad course of defeating needed support of our public library. If the school budget continues to spiral upward, there will be no tax base left to support it. Taxpayers will vote with their feet and leave this area..and NYS. (As I think many retired teachers opt to do-I wonder WHY?)urther, any community which cannot-indeed will not- support a library may as well hang it up. Because we will have become what we may be meant to be: a speed bump between Syracuse and Oswego! Nothing would make me happier than to be proven wrong.
Thank you to all who participated in Tuesday’s school budget vote, bus purchase proposition and Board of Education election.
This year’s budget struck a balance of slightly increasing the tax levy (2.2 percent, or $398,935) to cover the rising costs of fuel, transportation, and utilities and the previously budgeted cost of the debt service ($331,000 collectively).
The budget will allow the district to maintain existing curriculum offerings and continue focused efforts to meet the academic and social needs of all learners.
Your continued commitment and financial support of the school district and the nearly 4,000 students is critically important as students and families and teachers and staff strive harder than ever to ensure academic and social progress and success for all learners.
It is also important to note that four sections (or classes) were eliminated at the elementary level. This teacher reduction reflects declining enrollment. The district and Board of Education will continue to monitor student-to-teacher ratios at all grade levels throughout the district. Additional adjustments or teacher reductions may be on the horizon if student enrollment remains flat or continues to decline.
These 200 words can not begin to fully explain the total rationale of this year’s budget. So, I would encourage those who have questions to participate in next year’s budget development as a member of the Community Budget Task Force or simply as someone who listens in the audience as the various budget topics are discussed. This process is completely open to the public with many concerns shared and good ideas adopted.
If you have more immediate questions I would be happy to talk with you as a member of the school board. You may reach me at [email protected] or 350-7252.
Matt Geitner