Katonah-Lewisboro 2019-20 Proposed Budget Under Tax Cap

CROSS RIVER, NY — When residents of the Katonah-Lewisboro school district go to the polls Tuesday, May 21 they will be asked to approve a $110.2 million budget for 2019-20. This is up 1.36 percent over the 2018-19 spending package.

District officials said the tax levy will increase 1.61 percent if the budget is approved. That is under the state-mandated tax cap, and therefore, the vote is only required to be a majority of the voters to pass.

Estimated tax rate increases or decrease, according to district officials, are as follows:

• Bedford: -2.63 percent
• Lewisboro: 3.45 percent
• North Salem: 3.62 percent
• Pound Ridge: 3.05 percent

The board of education will adopt the final tax levy July 1, and tax rates above are subject to change.

Among the items that the budget supports for 2019-20 are staffing to support a favorable class size across the district, social emotional learning, continued expansion and updating of the elementary classroom libraries, additional special education staffing for at-risk kindergarten and first-grade students and increased investment in capital improvements.

Of note for staff benefits, the district migrated to the state Health Insurance Plan, which reduced annual expenses by more than $1 million. Also there was a decrease in the amount of $663,571 for state Retirement System costs for the district's employees.

There will also be a proposition to fund bus and maintenance vehicle replacements.

The district is asking for four 66-passenger buses, a wheelchair accessible van, a transportation garage service truck and an operations and maintenance "rack" truck — for a total cost not to exceed $648,485. The money will be taken from current funds available in the 2918-19 general fund and transferred to the capital fund.

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