Voters Weigh In On New Rochelle's Budget Retry

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — On the second try to get a budget for the New Rochelle school district, voters said yes. The proposed $270.4 million spending plan for the 2018-19 school year was approved 1,757 to 1,004, according to unofficial results, pending the counting of absentee ballots.

The budget kept the increase in the tax levy to the state-mandated 2.231 percent cap. School officials said they cut $3.4 million from the tax levy that was included in the $272.8 million budget voters rejected in May.

“This budget will serve the district well,” Superintendent Dr. Brian Osborne said. “By allocating resources responsibly, the budget preserves our programs, provides for necessary additions and also protects the fiscal health that we have worked so hard to improve in recent years.”

The newly adopted budget has an estimated tax rate of $785.72 per $1,000 of assessed value — an increase of $21 per $1,000 or 2.75 percent. School officials said the tax bill for a home assessed at $16,000, which is the city average, will be an estimated $12,571.52 — an increase of $335.95. They said such a home has an estimated market value of $695,000.

All necessary programs, faculty and staff positions currently in place for the 2017-18 school year are maintained in the proposed budget.

It adds four school counselors at New Rochelle High School and also adds teaching positions to address pressing student needs.

Photo credit: NRED.org.