2023 School Voters Guide: Ossining

OSSINING, NY — Voters around Westchester County will be going to the polls Tuesday to approve their school district's budget, including the Ossining district.

Also on the ballot are elections for school board members. Three trustee seats are up for election in Ossining, and four people are running. They are:

• Annie Gomez
• Kelly Leveille
• Rob Melstein
• Frank Schnecker (incumbent)

See their candidate profiles here on Ossining-Croton Patch.

Voters in the district are being asked to approve an $167,014,417 spending plan for the 2023-24 fiscal year. There is no tax levy increase projected for the 2023-24 school year.

In fact, parents and officials are seeing fruit from years of lobbying, as the state fully funds annual Foundation Aid according to its own formula. SEE: Officials Celebrate Full State Funding For Ossining, Peekskill Schools.

The district will receive 100 percent of its Foundation Aid allotment with a record amount of additional aid and the state’s largest grant to school districts, officials said in the budget newsletter. Ossining will receive $12.3 million in expense-based aids. The total state aid in the budget is $49 million, which includes over $36 million in Foundation Aid. See more information here.

Also on the ballot is the library budget. The Ossining Public Library Board of Trustees' spending plan of $5,430,077 is within the state's tax cap and would allow the library to enhance some programs and services while maintaining its current operating hours and collections.

The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the small gym at Ossining High School.