Freeport school budget passes; Kight is re-elected trustee

Freeporter Cynthia Katz stopped by Columbus Avenue School in Freeport to cast her ballot in the school election Tuesday. She voted for the Freeport District’s $179.9 million budget, she said.
"No one wants taxes to go up,” Katz said, “but we have to make an investment in future generations.”
She also voted for the Freeport Memorial Library budget, which totaled $6.3 million.
2018-19 was, in fact, the fourth straight year that the Freeport District lowered its tax levy, and the sixth year in the past 11 that it has done so. The district will decrease the levy — the total amount that it must collect in taxes to meet expenses — by 1.27 percent in the coming school year, largely because of a large infusion of state aid.
Still, it was a tense night on Tuesday, as Freeport school officials anxiously waited for the vote results to stream in, and for Denise Elmore, Freeport’s election chairwoman, to certify the vote.

Freeport Board of Education Trustee Ernest Kight Jr. ran for the school board unopposed and was re-elected. He received 711 votes. Kight’s three-year term will start July 1.
“Thank you all for the support of the Freeport School District,” Kight said. “We do this for our kids and our library, and, of course, thank you very much for your support for me.”
The approved school budget will continue existing programs and provide additional staff to support students, along with funding for special-education programs, including the Board of Cooperative Educational Services. Among the special programs that the budget will support are the annual Summer Arts Academy and a new Summer Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Program, along with after-school programs and clubs, including robotics.
“It is our priority to offer our students extraordinary academic and extracurricular opportunities,” Dr. Kishore Kuncham, the superintendent, said.
“This budget expands our programs and plans for numerous capital improvements with instructional rigor and fiscal responsibility,” Kuncham said. “We are proud of the amazing accomplishments of our students in academics, sports and the arts. With the support of our community, we will continue to move our students to reach greater heights.”
Kuncham said he was excited that the district will kick off a $6 million capital improvement initiative with reserve funds approved by voters in 2009 and 2017. Capital improvements at district schools will include:

• Air-conditioning work.
• Security upgrades, including new entrance vestibules.
• Flooring, ceiling tile and lighting renovation.
• Science lab and bathroom replacement.
• Band and chorus room upgrades.
• A new display case at Freeport High School.
• A classroom addition at Atkinson Intermediate School.