School tax levy won’t rise as much as first planned

LAKE COMO — The Lake Como Board of Education (BOE), at its July 16 special meeting, voted to revise its 2024-2025 school budget to include newly approved state aid adjustments to raise the tax levy an additional 5.67% and a grant.

The adjustment is made possible through a recent senate bill that relates to S2 losses, or the state’s school-aid funding formula, to assist schools that have lost such aid over recent years, according to Business Administrator Michael Bardsley.

The bill allows certain districts experiencing reductions in state aid to request increases in their adjusted property tax levies above the 2% cap up to 9.9%, as well as additional funding from the Stabilized School Budget Aid Grant Program in the Department of Education, which provides grants equal to 45% of a school district’s state school aid reduction for the 2024-2025 school year.

Originally, the Lake Como BOE had been prepared to request the full 7.3% tax levy increase for an additional $239,464, along with the $8,136 grant for the purchase of student computers.

After lengthy discussion, the BOE voted to revise its adjustments to request a 5.67% tax levy increase for $119,732, as well as moving the grant funding towards transportation costs.

The decision to lower the tax levy adjustment to half of the permitted increase was made by a vote of 3-2. Board members Patty Cavanagh, Jacqueline Dahrouge and Michele Cartaya voted in favor of half, while board members Nicholas DeMauro Jr. and Bethann Witte voted in favor of the full amount.

According to Bardsley, with the change in proposal, the state may not approve Lake Como’s request. If this were to happen, Lake Como would not see a tax levy increase and would not receive the grant funding.

“I do have to resubmit this to the county with the change of the budget line number and if she (county business administrator) does reject it…we won’t be able to (try again)…she approved this (original request), if we put it on a different line, I’m just letting you know, I don’t know if they’d approve it or not,” Bardsley said.

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