Rye City School District Budget Vote Tuesday

Rye residents will have the opportunity to vote on the 2013-2014 adopted $76.7 million school district budget on Tuesday. The adopted budget proposes $2.3 million in cuts that would affect 27 positions. Of those affected, 21 district employees would lose their jobs – 12 full-time and part-time teachers, eight teaching assistants and teaching aids and a clerical staff member. Four positions would have reduced hours and four teaching positions will be left vacant through attrition.

The budget represents a 4.59 percent increase in the tax rate and a tax levy increase of 4.65 percent. The cost to the average homeowner (of a $1.2 million home) would be about $650.97 a year. Health care, benefit and retirement costs are expected to grow by $3.9 million in the next school budget year, and, combined with the tax cap and unfunded mandates, are the district’s largest challenges, officials said.

The budget preserves the core components of the district’s programs and includes class sizes that remain within existing guidelines, according to the school district. It also will increase security in the schools and debt service for the science classroom construction. The budget includes more that one million dollars for a new debt service related to the addition for science classrooms, Assistant Superintendent for Business Kathleen Ryan said. “But it is tax cap compliant,” she said. The debt service is exempt from the tax cap.  

Board of Education Election
Three candidates are vying for two empty BOE seats this year: Bob Zahm, Nicole Weber, Katy Keohane Glassberg. Read a Q&A with each candidate by clicking on his or her name.  

Voting will be held at the Rye Middle School gym from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21.  

You can read more on the budget on the school district’s website, here.