BAINBRIDGE – Superintendent Timothy Ryan spoke on behalf of the Bainbridge Guilford Central School District’s proposed budget. The 2017-2018 proposed budget hearing will be held on Tuesday, May 9 at 7 p.m. in the High School Auditorium and following that public meeting will be voting day on Tuesday, May 16 from noon- 9 p.m. in the Greenlawn Elementary School and the Guilford Town Hall.
For the upcoming year of 2017-2018, Bainbridge Guilford Central School estimated spending plan consist of $17,618,035 which will include many educational opportunities for students to learn and grow while being sensitive and responsible to our taxpayers. The plan proposes a modest 1.75% tax increase to district taxpayers. “The 2017-2018 school budget is down 3.5 percent from the 2016-2017 budget. This is due to the fact that the district no longer has a large debt payment relative to the 2001 Capital Project. The district’s revenue also decreased as the district will no longer be receiving the Building Aid that was off-setting that large debt payment each year”, said superintendent Tim Ryan.
During the course of the public budget meeting, community members can expect to hear about the possibility of leasing buses and the capital outlay projects that are set to continue for the upcoming year.
The Bainbridge Guilford Central School District will be asking voters to approve the leasing of two full-size 65-passenger diesel buses and one smaller 22-passenger gasoline bus. “After extensive comparisons of our options, leasing will save the district approximately $13,000 for the three buses over a five year lease versus purchasing. This savings does not take into account the additional cost of financing to purchase school buses. The annual lease payment for the above three buses is estimated not to exceed $43,000. After State Aid, the district will be paying approximately $9,750 per year to lease the three school buses. Leasing will also allow us to keep our fleet newer on a five year rotation. New buses will be under a 5-year warranty period allowing the district to reduce the cost of upkeep and repairs. Voter authorization is needed in order to lease buses in New York State”, added Ryan. The District voters will see a separate proposition for Bus Leasing on the ballot during the budget vote held on Tuesday, May 16th.
As for the capital outlay project, the Bainbridge Guilford Central School District has included a $100,000 Capital Outlay project in the 2017-2018 school budget. Outlay projects allow the district to continue to upgrade the school facilities independent of our recently passed Capital Building Project.
Similar to the outlay project that was included in the 2016-17 budget, the money will be used to continue the installation of LED lighting at the Jr.-Sr. High School building. “Currently the district is installing LED lighting in 13 classrooms with work to be completed by June 30, 2017. It is the district’s hope to complete the entire Jr.-Sr. High School building and then move to other buildings within the district. The change from traditional fluorescent style lighting to LED lighting is another way the district is working to save money and move to a “greener” eco-friendly future. LED lighting uses approximately 80% less energy than our current fluorescent lighting system so it is estimated that the changeover will pay for itself within a three year time period”, said Ryan.
With voting day quickly approaching, a few qualifications must be met in order to vote. Such as, the voter must be 18 years of age or older, has to be a citizen of the United States, must be a resident of the school district for the 30 days prior to the election and is registered to vote either with the school district or the County Board of Elections.
