Hilton voters go to polls May 18;
$54.5 million budget proposal
includes full-day kindergarten

Residents in the Hilton Central School District will go to the polls on Tuesday, May 18 for the annual Budget Vote and Board Election. Two propositions will be on the ballot: $54.5 million Budget Proposal and a $760,000 Bus Purchase offset by 73 percent state aid. In addition, three positions on the Board of Education are open for which three candidates will be on the ballot.

In a press release, district officials noted the following budget outline. The Hilton Board of Education voted unanimously on April 20 to adopt the $54,489,914 budget proposal for the 2004-05 school year which translates into a 5.98 percent tax increase over 2003-04. For the average home assessed at $100,000 in the district with the STAR exemption, this means about a $94.50 increase. Included in the budget proposal are: the first mortgage payment on the district's $57.9 million Capital Project, a $4.2 million payment offset by $3.3 million in state aid; a significant increase in the district's mandatory payment to the New York State retirement systems, up $1 million; and an increase in security and maintenance costs for the newly-constructed classrooms and new secure entrances, up $534 million.

The district expects to receive about $19,677,536 in State Operating Aid based on the Governor's proposal, according to Assistant Superintendent for Business Steven Ayers. Offsetting the tax rate have been reductions across the board in staff positions, supplies, and reductions in several other areas as well as the application of $400,000 in interest earned from borrowings on the Capital Project.

"Our educational system is expanding capacity as classrooms and renovations come online through the Capital Project," Interim Superintendent of Schools Josephine S. Kehoe said in the press release. "We have brought expenses down in several ways: the Capital Project's 75 percent state aid reimbursement rate; our A+ bond rating effectively saves the district $3.5 million in interest costs over a 20-year period; and this budget reflects $400,000 applied directly to the tax rate from interest earnings on Capital Project borrowings. In addition, the New York State Comptroller's Office just completed an extensive review of our fiscal operations which indicated complete compliance."

The Hilton budget proposal was developed out of the work done by twelve Budget Committees composed of board members, administrators, teachers, staff, parents, students and community members which reviewed and built into their individual budgets a number of cost reductions this year following on prior years' cutbacks. While full-day kindergarten opens in September 2004 and eight new teachers will be hired, the State Transitional Aid for full-day kindergarten has covered these costs. Four new teachers will be hired to cover enrollment increases at the Middle School and a part-time position in the High School International Baccalaureate program is added.

Three positions are open on the Hilton Board of Education which are uncontested. The three candidates are: incumbent Ted Welch, 109 Underwood Avenue, Hilton, who is seeking his third term on the board; appointee Steve Beauvais, 11 Albano Drive, Hilton, who is filling the remainder of the position vacated by former board member Dale Beehler last July; and seeking a position for the first time, is Barbara Cutrona, 817 Macintosh Drive, Greece

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