Candidates, budget hearing draw little attention
Sweet Home
by DAVID F. SHERMAN Managing Editor

Two of the three candidates for one open seat on the Sweet Home Board of Education addressed a small audience of taxpayers at Meet the Candidates night May 6.

Irene Bailey and incumbent Scott Johnson were present for the program. Debbie Adams was unable to attend because of a previous commitment with a religious education course she teaches.

Adams' statement was read by facilitator Paula Kolbas, representing the Sweet Home PTA Council. Adams cited her professional experience as qualification for a board seat.

Bailey referenced her skills as a youth sports coach as well as her role as a labor negotiator. She also stated she has been an advocate for the Montessori system for the past 20 years.

She encourages students to scrutinize their academic surroundings, saying, "Questions are sometimes more important than the answers."

A member of the School Board for two years, Johnson pointed to his collaboration with fellow board members and his work on the last two school budgets.

He said one of the reasons his family relocated to the district was the quality of education.

"We are preparing children to meet the challenges of the future," he said. "We want to meet state standards but not just teach to the test."

Following the presentations by the candidates, Director of Finance and Plant Services Robert McDow outlined the proposed 2008-09 budget. He said board members have been consulting with supervisory personnel and principals since November.

The Board of Education has been hammering out details of the spending plan during the last four months, he said, trying to keep any tax increase under the Consumer Price Index.

McDow said the tax levy - the amount of the budget to be raised through taxes - would increase by 1.74 percent, the lowest hike in eight years. That figure does not include a separate proposition to purchase six school buses at a cost of $442,000.

The $62,599,511 budget represents an increase of 3.79 percent over the current year. Officials expect the district to benefit from a projected 1 percent increase in property tax assessments and to receive an additional $200,000 in BOCES aid.

If approved, the average tax bill for an Amherst home assessed at $100,000 with STAR exemption would decrease $8.40 from the current year. A similar home in the Town of Tonawanda under the same scenario would see a tax bill increase of $12.20.

The proposed budget includes elimination of one middle school special education teacher and one enrichment teacher and the addition of two teacher aide positions for elementary math intervention and one cleaner at the middle school.

Voting will take place from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 20, in the Norman C. Vergils Community Center of Sweet Home High School, 1901 Sweet Home Road, Amherst.