South Glens Falls Central School District residents will vote Tuesday, May 16, on a proposed $69,871,797 spending plan for the 2023-24 school year. The proposed plan calls for a $4,936,015 increase in spending over the current year’s budget along with a $3,198,299 increase in State Aid funding.
If approved, the budget would increase the tax levy by 2.8% percent, which is below the district’s state-imposed tax levy limit of 3.58% percent. While final assessment figures are not available until August, it is projected that homeowners with a market value of $100,000 will see their annual taxes increase by approximately $28.22, depending on the town where they live.
“We here at South Glens Falls Central School District are pleased to once again offer a budget that maintains, and in some cases increases, our staffing and programming while also keeping the tax levy increase under the state-mandated tax cap,” said Superintendent Kristine Orr. “Our administrators have always strived to be mindful of the bottom line for our residents, while also offering a robust educational curriculum.”
Voters will also elect three members to the board of education. Also on the ballot, the district is requesting to expend $2,000,000 from the Capital Reserve fund to make necessary repairs around the district.
Expanded Program offerings
This year will introduce two new programs. Our district is very excited about full-day universal prekindergarten and fully provided school supplies for our UPK to grade 5 students.
“We are delighted to be offering full-day Universal PreKindergarten for the 2023-24 school year,” said Superintendent Kristine Orr. “Here at the South Glens Falls Central School District, we are always looking for ways to expand our offerings for our learners. By offering full-day PreK, we can offer our youngest learners a more comprehensive early education experience.”
The South Glens Falls CSD will have six UPK classrooms for the 2023-24 school year. Three will continue to be housed at Moreau and one classroom will be at the other three elementary buildings. Funding for the expanded program is being provided by New York State.
“We know that these can be trying times economically. By offering full-day UPK and elementary school supplies, we are trying to help our working families stretch their budgets further,” Orr said.
New positions possible for the 2023-24 school year
The 2023-24 budget calls for the introduction of a new district psychologist, several new teaching positions, additional counselors, and an added groundskeeper.
The district psychologist position complete re-evaluation assessments and preschool initial evaluations among other tasks.
The groundskeeper position will help with increased needs in our building and maintenance capacities.
At our elementary level, we are looking to introduce new teachers at our UPK level, along with a new department head to oversee the expanded program. Four AIS Math and one AIS ELA Elementary teacher opening are being considered. We are also looking to add two elementary-level counselors and four full-time substitute teachers.
Additional aides at the middle and high schools, a new restorative coordinator/peer mediation position at the high school, and a new full-time nurse at the high school are all being considered for the 2023-24 school year.
See more information on our 2023-24 Budget page