Two Westchester County school districts have passed their budgets on the second try, bringing the school budget season to a close with all districts in the Lower Hudson Valley approving their budgets.
Voters in the Mount Vernon and Eastchester school districts approved revised budgets on June 16 after rejecting the original proposals in May.
The $275.5 million budget for the Mount Vernon School District was approved by a vote of 1,161 to 1,075. The revised budget includes a 1.5% increase in the tax levy, slightly lower than the 1.99% increase proposed in the initial budget.
Eastchester voters approved a revised budget by a vote of 2,404 to 552 that pulled back from an earlier attempt to pierce the tax cap, keeping the increase under the cap at 2.35%. Voters also passed a transportation proposition that will reduce bus service for about 1,550 students who live near their schools.
While the budgets include tax increases, job cuts and services reductions, both districts avoided the risk of adopting contingency budgets that could have led to deeper cuts.
“Thank you to the Mount Vernon community for supporting a budget that will support all our scholars and help advance their opportunities,” Mount Vernon superintendent Demario Strickland said in a statement. “I would like to assure the community that this budget is a responsible and purposeful plan, shaped by the realities of a lean fund balance and guided by an unwavering commitment to our students, families, and community.”
Helu Wang covers economic growth, real estate and education for The Journal News/lohud and USA Today Network. Reach her at hwang@gannett.com and follow her @helu.wangny on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: These two Westchester school districts passed revised budgets
Reporting by Helu Wang, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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By Helu Wang, Rockland/Westchester Journal News | USA TODAY Network
