OSWEGO – The Oswego City School District Board of Education met on the evening of May 1, 2023, and discussed the budget that will be voted on by the taxpayers of the district on May 16, 2023.
Commencing with the Budget Hearing, Executive Director of Business and Finance Nancy Squairs presented the budget in detail, beginning by reminding the Board and attendees that the District will be awarded additional State Foundation Aid, due to the resolution of a Fiscal Equity lawsuit that was filed on behalf of the District and other small city districts when it became apparent that these Districts had been underfunded for a period of time. The 2023-2024 budget will see the final installment of these funds. These additional funds have allowed the District to afford additional student programs and equipment without needing to ask for additional tax revenue.
In terms of additional staff listed in the budget, the district proposes to hire a floating school nurse, an additional Music teacher at OMS, an additional Grounds Worker, create additional hours for typists, and a head Bus Driver.
Squairs listed a number of programming additions, including the implementation of the new I-Ready Math curriculum for students in Kindergarten through grade 8.
The district’s Property Tax Levy is $27,027,338, showing a 1.444% increase. Total revenue will increase by 4.4 million dollars.
Squairs outlined three options that may come into place if the voters reject the budget: a contingency budget adopted by the Board, a second vote, or providing a contingency budget with one or more propositions to fund services that cannot be provided without approval.
The Budget notice will be mailed on May 10, and the vote will take place on May 16, 2023. A list of polling places can be found on the District’s Website.
https://www.oswego.org/
The Board then moved to its regular meeting and discussed the naming of facilities. After a discussion, the Board decided to form a committee to properly facilitate the orderly process of naming District properties and assets.
Interim Superintendent Jeffery Gordon offered a report from his position, outlining the recent meeting that he attended at SUNY Oswego regarding the Micron facility and its effect on the Oswego area. Gordon said that the District should possibly increase curricular offerings to include semiconductor and other technology-related training, and that STEAM courses would be of increased value. Gordon also discussed a recent Oswego Health Mental Health Awareness Month Press conference that he attended, sharing some of the increases in student mental health efforts that will become available in the community.
All items on the Consent Agenda passed unanimously.
All items on the Personnel Agenda passed unanimously.
All items on the Finance Agenda passed unanimously.
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