BAINBRIDGE — The Bainbridge-Guilford Central School District (BGCSD) will be holding a vote on their budget for the 2023-24 school year on Tuesday, May 16.

Residents must vote on the budget in the town they are registered to vote in. Bainbridge-based BGCSD residents can vote at the Greenlawn Elementary School from noon to 9 p.m., and Guilford-based BGCSD residents can vote from noon to 9 p.m. at the Guilford Elementary School.

The proposed budget totals $22,655,474 and a 1.85 percent tax levy increase – the calculated tax cap for this year. The budget needs a simple majority vote, or 51 percent of voters, to pass and adopt the proposed budget.

"The district feels that this budget is financially responsible and provides the best education for our students that the B-G District can afford. It is the goal of the Board of Education and the entire district to maximize our finances for the benefit of our students," said BGCSD Superintendent Timothy Ryan. "We look forward to a very bright future for the Bainbridge-Guilford Central School District and thank you for your continued support."

The budget plan includes a $3,868,914 allocation to administrative departments and services, including expenditures for the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Schools office, the business office, records management, public information, legal services, liability and student accident insurance, memberships in various school and educational organizations, the district's share of BOCES administrative costs, building administrators, school safety and security costs, curriculum, staff development, and applicable administrative employee benefits.

A total of $14,644,916 has been allocated for programming, which includes school instruction, programs for handicapped children, occupational education, summer school education, school libraries, computer-assisted instruction, student guidance and counseling, health services, co-curricular activities, athletics, pupil transportation, and program employee benefits.

The capital portion of the budget, which is responsible for operating and maintaining BGCSD buildings and grounds, was designated a total of $4,141,644. This portion includes custodial and grounds-keeping staff and applicable employee benefits, payment of outstanding debt on previous capital projects, and small capital outlay projects.

Overall, the proposed 2023-24 school year budget has increased by 5.66 percent from last year's budget. Ryan said the drivers for this year's budget include special education costs, the cost of fuel and utilities, and staffing.

"Special education costs and fuel and utilities have increased considerably, and then we have contractual obligations, such as salaries, and then we have added staff positions into the budget that were cut in previous years," he explained. "A large increase this year in our new budget was the cost of fuel, and it’s tricky, each year that fluctuates, of course, like it does for a homeowner."

The proposed 1.85 tax levy increase means resident's school taxes would increase by 35 cents per $1,000 of assessed home value. For example, a home with an assessed worth of $100,000 would see a tax increase of about $35 per year, or $2.92 per month. A home assessed at $150,000 would see an increase of about $52.50 per year, or $4.38 per month.

"Over the years [we] have kind of had increases around there. This is one of our lower increases, and we try to be sensitive to the taxpayers, but still providing a good education for our students," said Ryan.

Ryan explained BGCSD is also expecting a total revenue of $22,655,474 – an exact match to this year's budget. $15,091,633 will be coming from state aid, $514,328 from miscellaneous revenue, which includes things such as surplus equipment sales and tuition for out-of-district students, and $7,049,513 from the tax levy.

The perfectly balanced budget means BGCSD won't have to take any money from their reserves or fund balance.

"We are not pulling money from reserves to balance the budget," said Ryan. "A fund balance is like the district’s slush fund, and in the past we have moved money from the fund balance to balance the budget. This year we are proud to have balanced the budget with no use of fund balance or reserves."

"We’re proud of the budget this year. It's a slight increase. We did it without borrowing from reserves or taking money from reserves or from the fund balance, and I think voters are appreciative of increases that are smaller."

Also on the ballot this year are three candidates for the BGCSD Board of Educations. Voters may select two candidates to vote for, including Marek Rajner, John Gliha, and Timothy Suda, or may choose to vote for write-in candidates.

Voters will also have the option to vote on Proposition 1 - Purchase of School Buses, a proposed purchase of two school buses by the district for a total of $244,000.

Proposition 2, a request by the Trustees of the Bainbridge Free Library, is on the ballot as well, although Ryan stressed the proposition is completely independent of the school budget vote. The proposition reads, "BGCSD is authorized to levy and collect an annual tax, separate and apart from the annual school district budget, in the amount of $80,000, which shall be paid to the Bainbridge Free Library for the support and maintenance of the library."

Voting on the BGCSD 2023-24 budget, BGCSD Board of Education, Proposition 1, and Proposition 2 will be held from noon to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, May 16 at the Greenlawn and Guilford Elementary Schools.

More information on the proposed budget can be found at www.bgcsd.org/BusinessOffice.aspx under "2023-2024 Proposed Budget Information."