Mount Vernon Voters Heard On School Budget And Board

MOUNT VERNON, NY -- Budgets, capital projects and board candidates were on the ballots for school districts across New York State. In Mount Vernon, the budget passed by a comfortable margin. Additionally, Wanda White, Darthea “Darcy” Miller, and Micah McOwen were elected to the Board of Education for three-year terms.

Voters approved the $251,979,860 budget for the 2018-19 school year by a 1,051-657 vote. The results remain unofficial pending the counting of absentee ballots.

The approved budget is a 2.36 percent increase, or $5.8 million above last year’s spending plan and includes a tax increase of less than 1 percent. The 0.89 percent tax increase is the lowest of all districts in Westchester and Putnam counties and the first tax rate increase since Superintendent Dr. Kenneth R. Hamilton and his administrative team took the helm in July 2014.

The budget funds staff, programs and capital improvements that will keep the District moving toward the goals set forth in the Superintendent’s 20/20 Vision for Academic Excellence.

“With this approved budget, we will continue to strive for equity in the education we provide our students across all grade levels and buildings throughout the District,” said Hamilton. “The passage of this budget is a testament to voters’ recognition of the critical importance of academic excellence. The community’s support of the District’s 20/20 Vision has been unwavering, and I can’t thank residents enough!”

To support the District’s move toward full-day, pre-K district wide, the budget includes funding for five new pre-K classrooms. Pre-K teachers and staff will be added to meet the needs of the growing population. A pre-K director will also be hired to oversee the program.

“When a District invests in pre-K, it reduces future expenses for remediation and other support services,” Hamilton explained. “Full-day, quality, pre-K also enables families to save on exorbitant daycare costs.”

The District is also investing in quality instructional transformation at the high school level with the creation of three, theme-based high schools of choice. This fall, STEAM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Arts-Mathematics) High School, Thornton School for the Performing and Visual Arts and The Mount Vernon High School will open. The Mount Vernon High School will have a Career and Technical Education program and an application for a rigorous International Baccalaureate Program is underway.

“When students are able to choose their educational pathway, they are more engaged learners and graduate better prepared to compete in a global workplace,” said Hamilton.

In March 2016, the school board unanimously approved the 20/20 Vision Bond to restore academic excellence in the District’s schools. The community overwhelming supported the bond. This marks the first year taxpayers will begin paying for the improvements being made district wide. It was originally estimated in 2016 that a household with an average home assessment would see a tax increase of $14 per month. Thanks to costs saving measures implemented in the District, streamlining, and consolidations of services, an average household will only see a $6.82 monthly tax increase.

The approved budget is 100 percent aligned with the Board of Education’s goals to create systems to promote student achievement and increase outcomes, paying particular attention to subgroups in order to close the student achievement gap. It additionally implements a multi-year plan for improving buildings, grounds, and facilities, including the exploration of private and public partnerships.

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