Lake Placid’s proposed school budget for the upcoming fiscal year would spend $20,731,143. That’s an increase of 3.77% over the current fiscal year — mostly because of salary increases and BOCES expenses — but the district isn’t proposing a tax increase to pay for it. Instead, the district intends to use $488,570 from its reserves and levy the same amount of taxes from property owners as it did this year, $16,710,000.

In the approved 2020-21 budget, the district didn’t use any money from its reserves.

If approved by voters, the school tax rate per $1,000 in assessed value would remain $7.25 in both North Elba and Wilmington. A person whose home is assessed at $300,000 would pay around $2,175 in school taxes. The estimated basic School Tax Relief (STAR) exemption under the district’s proposed budget would be $217.

Beyond the usual expenses, included in the budget is money for a new special education teacher and special education teaching assistant, an upgrade of the district computer server, funding for professional development, summer school and a family visitation coordinator (one day a week). It also includes funding to provide free meals for all students, a service that’s currently being funded by the federal government but won’t be in the next school year.

A public hearing on the school’s budget will be livestreamed on May 4 at 6:30 p.m. in Lake Placid.

The plan goes before voters on May 18. The school’s fiscal year begins on July 1.