Voters in the Kendall Central School District will be asked to cast their vote for a school budget of $12,464,258 when they go to the polls on May 15.

The budget, a $1,296,046 increase over the previous year, takes into consideration a capital building project which voters overwhelmingly approved earlier this year, and changes in the district’s academic staff.

"This is an excellent budget we have put together," Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael O’Laughlin said. "This is a very responsible budget … one that maintains our academic progress."

Included in the budget is a plan for enrichment and acceleration opportunities for students; increased computer technology; the addition of a girls’ and boys’ varsity and modified track teams; staff development required for the implementation of New York state learning standards and the reauthorized federal special education mandates; and an increase in school security.

The purchase of new textbooks at a cost of $25,000 is necessary to address the new state education curriculum requirements, he said. The district is also adding an academic intervention services teacher to provide additional required support for students to meet the state academic requirements; other faculty has also been added to the budget in order to help students in the district meet the new standards.

"We have made this budget as lean as possible while still allowing for our students to have access to the faculty necessary to help them excel academically," he said.

O’Laughlin said the University of Buffalo recently completed a survey of Kendall’s graduated seniors. The graduates said they would have "liked to see Kendall work on more computer technology." An additional $15,000 was added to the budget to address the technology needs of the students.

While no figures are set in stone until the New York state budget is passed and state aid figures are determined, O’Laughlin said the tax rate would be $23.14 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. This is an increase of $2.14 over the prior year’s budget.

As an example, he explained, a homeowner with a house assessed at $100,000 who takes advantage of the STAR program would see a decrease of $59 in their tax bill.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for May 1 in the high school at 7 p.m.