Pine Bush budget shows 2.28% increase

By Kerry Butrick Dowling
Posted 5/10/22

The Pine Bush Central School District’s 2022-2023 Budget Vote and Election will be held on Tuesday, May 17. According to Assistant Superintendent for Business Michael Pacella, the 2022-2023 …

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Pine Bush budget shows 2.28% increase

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The Pine Bush Central School District’s 2022-2023 Budget Vote and Election will be held on Tuesday, May 17. According to Assistant Superintendent for Business Michael Pacella, the 2022-2023 Proposed Budget totals $128,759,335, an increase of $2,867,738 and a percentage change of 2.28 %. This includes using $2.99 million in fund balance. The breakdown of the proposed budget is about 78.22% percent programming costs, 10.56% percent administrative costs and 11.22% percent in capital expenditures. The tax levy will increase by 1.5%.

At the recent Board of Education Meeting, Pacella presented the final proposed budget before board members and those in attendance. “The pie chart indicates that the programming or the instructional piece of our budget or any instructional budget, in any school district in the state, is roughly 75 to 80%. The other two pieces of the pie, the capital, is made up of predominately expenses that have been approved over prior years by the voters in our capital projects. But it’s also made up of operational costs, so electric, water, heating and anything that’s involved with maintaining our buildings. And then there’s the administrative piece, which is the actual running of our schools,” explained Pacella.

Pacella shared that the final proposed budget includes five additional staff members. The proposed budget also maintains Pine Bush’s current instructional staffing levels because the district has a declining enrollment, but staffing levels will remain the same according to the class size policy that is already in place.

“We are recommending an assistant director of technology to assist John Hicks. We’re recommending a technology teacher and an additional special education teacher, social worker, and a behavior aid for Pre-K. As you know, Covid has put so many students at a social and emotional disadvantage. So we’re trying to get them caught up,” explained Pacella. In addition, two itinerant nurses that are currently on staff now will be included in the budget.

Lastly, safety will remain a top priority for district officials with the addition of a part time school monitor in the S.T.A.R.S section of the high school. “We continue with our full-time police presence in all the schools. The School Resource Officer will remain here in the high school, with the part-timers at the other six schools,” explained Pacella.

Voting will be held from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. on May 17