Oswego, Fulton School Budgets Pass, Hayden, Lyons and Callen, Bell Elected to BOE

by Mikayla Kemp | May 17, 2016 9:25 pm

SEE OSWEGO RESULTS BELOW FULTON’S

FULTON, NY – City residents turned out to their polling places today (May 17) to vote on the Fulton City School District 2016-2017 school budget and numerous other propositions including two open seats on the Board of Education.

All propositions passed with a total of 967 voters made up of 598 west side voters and 369 east side voters, a hefty increase from last year’s 553 total voters.

“We are very gratified with the turnout this year. 967 is a good amount for our district and we appreciate the support of our community,” said Superintendent of Schools, William Lynch.

The $70,336,500 budget passed with 652 votes in favor and 235 opposing votes.

The 2016-2017 budget brings forth a 2.47% spending increase from last year’s budget and a 0.43% tax levy increase.

In terms of value, a house assessed at $70,000 will see an increase of $8.33 in taxes next year whereas a house valued at $100,000 will see an increase of approximately $12.

“We are very pleased the budget passed,” said Lynch. “A lot of good things came together for our budget this year, we received a good increase in state aid which we are in need of as a low wealth district. We are happy to maintain a strong, quality program with opportunities for students and a modest impact on the tax levy.”

New to the FCSD Board of Education, Paula Hayden and Lynn Lyons claimed both open seats on the Board of Education with 710 and 656 total votes respectively, beating out David Carvey, current board member that ran seeking reelection receiving 286 votes.

“First, I’d like to thank Mr. (David) Carvey for his years as a Board of Education member and his many years in the groups and committees throughout the district. He has been actively involved in our district in many ways for quite some time so I’d like to thank him for that,” said Lynch. “And I would like to welcome Mrs. (Paula) Hayden and Mrs. (Lynn) Lyons to the Board of Education, I appreciate their commitment to getting involved.”

To sum up the feelings of both newcomers to the Board of Education; excited.

“First I’d like to thank the voters that showed support for the Board of Education and for our district in passing the budget. I’m looking forward to working with the current board members and learning along the way. I’m very excited to start this new journey,” said Hayden.

Lyons agreed, “I’m very excited, I am really honored to have everyone that voted put faith in me that I’ll do a good job for the youth in our district. I’m very excited to get started,” she said.

Dennis Casey and Ellen Himes will join the Fulton Public Library Board of Trustees with 581 votes and 677 votes, respectively.

The library tax proposition passed with 683 votes in favor and 206 votes against. This increase for the Public Library Tax Levy amounted to $17,867; an increase that would cost a $1.75 tax increase next year for a home owner whose house assessed at $70,000.

“Congratulations to the Library Board for their success with votes on the library levy and specifically to Mr. (Dennis) Casey and Mrs. (Ellen) Himes as they are welcomed to the Board of Trustees,” said Lynch.

The transportation proposition passed with 605 votes in favor and 282 votes against. This proposition allows the purchase of two transportation vans at a total cost not to exceed $56,000.

Finally, FCSD gained authority to sell a wooded parcel of land located on Granby Elementary School property that is no longer used for school purposes to a resident with adjoining property at a cost of $500 plus expenses. The proposition received 790 votes in favor and 102 votes against.

“I just really want to thank everyone that was a part of the process from voting today to attending any meetings or presentations during the budget process. We will remain committed to providing the best programs and services we can to our students,” said Superintendent Lynch.

Newcomers Win Seats On Oswego School Board

OSWEGO, NY – A pair of newcomers claimed the two open seats on the Oswego School Board Tuesday night.

With all of the four polling sites reporting, Aimee Callen was the top vote getter and James Bell garnered the second most.

Callen has 1,966 (unofficial) votes and Bell trails her by slightly less than 100 votes with 1,870.

Former board members Fran Hoefer (1,190) and Bill Myer (714) came in third and fourth, respectively.

Current board president and write-in candidate Kathleen Allen finished in fifth position with nearly 800 votes.

The $79,510,611 budget plan for 2016-17 school year was also approved by the voters, with nearly 70 percent of the voters saying yes (2,521 to 1,116).

The proposition to purchase new buses was approved, but the vote was much closer – 1,810 to 1,801.

The budget includes a 2.5% levy increase. For a $100,000 home that translates into an additional $52.98, or $4.42 a month.

It also contains many reductions; several support staff and teaching positions were eliminated as well as a big chunk of the district’s athletic programs.

At Tuesday’s board meeting, the superintendent explained that the district is looking at various ways that some or all of the sports programs and coaches may be saved before the next season gets under way.

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/news/oswego/16-17-fcsd-budget-passes-hayden-and-lyons-elected-to-boe/

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