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Partly Cloudy BOE Candidates answers H-W’s Central Council questions
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We also have the compounding issue of a high percentage of residential vs. commercial property in the district. Although our levy is 18 percent higher than SD 15’s, the tax rate in SD 14 is more than twice that of SD 15. Much of that is due to their large commercial tax base along Central and Rockaway avenues that we just don’t have. No amount of cost cutting will ever allow us to compete with other districts solely on a tax basis, so it is even more imperative that we make sure our school district is so good that it is worthy of the high taxes we wind up paying.
The only way to responsibly deal with these problems it to make sure that we continue to trim our costs responsibly, while maintaining and improving our programs for our students and residents. We will continue to take advantage of every opportunity to hold down our expenses and improve the quality of education the district provides to its students.
What changes, if any, should be made in the district’s budget?
The board has been working on the district’s budget since last September and we have had more than 10 public budget sessions to review, discuss and plan for the upcoming year. Therefore, I believe the current budget proposal should go before the voters as is. The current proposal calls for a 2.14 percent budget increase that includes a 2.10 percent levy increase. If approved, we will not only be maintaining our existing programs, but we will be able to improve them.
We would be introducing an AP Capstone program at the high- school (one of only 100 high schools nationwide to pilot this program) that will give our students a competitive edge when applying for college. We would be reinforcing our award winning science research program, increasing our operation success program at the middle school, increasing math support at the elementary levels, and correcting the long-standing traffic problem at Franklin Early Childhood Center.
Is there any other information you would like to share about yourself or your goals? What would you like the community to know about you?
The only way to responsibly deal with these problems it to make sure that we continue to trim our costs responsibly, while maintaining and improving our programs for our students and residents. We will continue to take advantage of every opportunity to hold down our expenses and improve the quality of education the district provides to its students.
What changes, if any, should be made in the district’s budget?
The board has been working on the district’s budget since last September and we have had more than 10 public budget sessions to review, discuss and plan for the upcoming year. Therefore, I believe the current budget proposal should go before the voters as is. The current proposal calls for a 2.14 percent budget increase that includes a 2.10 percent levy increase. If approved, we will not only be maintaining our existing programs, but we will be able to improve them.
We would be introducing an AP Capstone program at the high- school (one of only 100 high schools nationwide to pilot this program) that will give our students a competitive edge when applying for college. We would be reinforcing our award winning science research program, increasing our operation success program at the middle school, increasing math support at the elementary levels, and correcting the long-standing traffic problem at Franklin Early Childhood Center.
Is there any other information you would like to share about yourself or your goals? What would you like the community to know about you?
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