Important Information from the Hastings-on-Hudson Board of Education on the School Budget and School Trustee Vote
Posted on: May 23, 2020 - 6:05pm
This email is being sent to the mailing list for informational purposes as it represents an issue of potentially broad interest to the community.
Dear Community Members,
Understandably, Covid-19 has impacted our budget for the coming year, and potentially beyond that. It has also impacted voting procedures for the upcoming budget and trustee vote. Below are answers to frequent questions we are getting.
How has Covid-19 impacted our budget for 2020-2021?
· On March 2, before we understood the impact of Covid-19, we were planning on receiving ~$5.4M from NY State Aid. That’s approximately 10% of our revenue.
· Over the ensuing 10 weeks we were told several times by NY State to expect a downward revision of that number, but we received nothing concrete. We were told that we would have to pass our budget before we would know what that reduction would be.
· Current estimate of NY State tax revenue decrease is a loss of ~$15 Billion.
· That translates to a potential 20% reduction in our State Aid funds in a worst-case scenario. We won’t officially know the reduction until later this fall in Sept and Dec.
· To be conservative, we have been planning for a ~$900K reduction in State Aid.
· District administrators have spent many hours coming up with solutions, weighing a lot of options. Their approach could be summarized as—make small cuts from many places in an effort to share the pain and not wholesale cut programs.
· The Board has had 9 meetings over the past 10 weeks to discuss these options, representing more than 25 hours of discussion. Below are links to meeting videos and slide decks. We’ve been asked by community members if we can briefly summarize these conversations and decisions made. Unfortunately, we cannot without oversimplifying a complex set of considerations. If you have a specific question, please reach us at boe@hohschools.org.
· Here are videos of our 9 meetings: March 2 meeting; March 16 meeting; March 30 meeting; April 15 meeting; April 21 meeting; April 27 meeting; May 5 meeting; May 13 meeting; May 18 meeting
· Here are 7 slide decks we discussed: March 2 budget slides; March 30 budget slides; April 15 budget slides; April 21 budget slides; April 27 budget slides; May 5 budget slides; May 13 budget slides
· The Board approved the budget with assumptions of reduced State Aid on Monday, May 18. The Community will vote on the budget by June 9th, by absentee ballot (more details on this vote below).
· Here is a link to the FULL BUDGET NEWSLETTER
What are relevant details regarding election to school board?
· There are 2 open seats on the board being elected this year
· There are 8 community members on the ballot
o Jeremy Galland
o Sean Hayes
o Nina Segal Kennedy
o Donna Liparulo
o Darren McDermott
o Joanne Pedro-Scardino
o Doug Sundheim
o Jessica Woodhouse
· Learn more about the candidates - May 26, 2020 – 6:30pm – Candidates for Board Trustee Forum, by the League of Women Voters and PTSA.
- You must register to get a link to the Forum - https://bit.ly/hastingssbreg
- You can submit questions here - https://bit.ly/Hastingssbques
Key information for budget vote and trustee elections
· May 22, 2020 – Absentee ballots will be mailed to all Hastings registered voters. If you do not receive a ballot by Thursday, May 28, please contact Jeanine Genauer, District Clerk either by phone (914-478-6206) or email (GenauerJ@hohschools.org)
· May 22, 2020 – Budget newsletter will be posted to District website and mailed the following week to all residents.
· May 26, 2020 — 6:30pm — Candidates for Board Trustee Forum, by the League of Women Voters and PTSA
- You must register to get a link to the Forum - https://bit.ly/hastingssbreg
- You can submit questions here - https://bit.ly/Hastingssbques
- June 1, 2020 — 7:00pm — Public Hearing on School Budget
- Please join meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/521459797
- You can also dial in using your phone. (571) 317-3112 Access Code: 521-459-797
- June 2, 2020 – School District Budget Notice mailed to all residents
- June 9, 2020 – Absentee Ballots must be returned to the school district by 5 PM on June 9. Ballots are to be returned by mail. There will also be a drop box the day of the vote (June 9th only) at the main door of the high school.
- PLEASE NOTE – June 9 is NOT a postmark date for the School Elections. Ballots must be received by that date to be counted.
- PLEASE NOTE – You may also be receiving absentee ballots for other elections, including the June 23 NY State elections. These will have different dates and may have different guidelines.
- You can find more information on this year’s School Budget Vote and Board Elections here on The New York State School Board Association site.
Hastings on Hudson Board of Education
Doug Sundheim, President
Lauren Berman, Vice President
Alison Andrus
Jeremy Arnon
Tim Baer
Jodie Meyer
Silvia Robles