×

LPCS sticks to budget tax cap

LAKE PLACID – New York’s property tax cap varies from district to district. Lake Placid Central School District’s cap is 2.96 percent for 2018-19, and that’s how much the tax levy will increase.

The school board settled on a tax levy, meaning what’s paid in local taxes, of $15,590,253.

The total budget, including state and federal funding, is $19,292,671, a 3.04 percent increase from last year’s total. The tax rate per $1,000 of assessed property value is 2.96 percent.

“Everything is very tight, and it has been since the tax cap,” said Lake Placid Superintendent Roger Catania. “The number-one priority for us is to maintain a focus on students. Academics and extra curricular activities are our priority.”

Catania said one of the major changes included in the budget would be hiring a second full-time librarian so the elementary and middle-high schools would each have one.

The budget would also set aside funds for students who want to take tests such as the SATs or AP exams, but whose families don’t always have the money.

“Some families, because they have the means, are able to get more opportunities than others, and we’re beginning to recognize the gap,” Catania said. “It was a gap we could make a difference in by covering the expenses for these placement tests.”

Catania said the part of the budget would go toward replacing “a couple of pickup trucks that have seen better days.”

Other than these proposals, Catania said a fair amount of the budget has stayed the same. He said aspects such as technology purchases, conferences and extra duties for employees have decreased.

A separate item on the ballot pertains to the school district leasing one 66-seat bus and one 30-seat bus.

Two school board budget hearings will be held before the vote on May 15.

The first was held at the Wilmington Community Center on Tuesday, May 1, and the second will be Tuesday, May 8 in Lake Placid in the school district office at 50 Cummings Road. Each will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

However, the school board already approved the budget on April 10, so these meetings are more informational rather than an opportunity to change the board member’s minds.

Starting at $1.44/week.

Subscribe Today