Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow To Vote On $86.4M School Budget

TARRYTOWN, NY — The Tarrytowns Union Free School District is putting an $86.4 million budget on the ballot May 17 for the voters to approve.

The budget-to-budget increase is 3.09 percent. The tax levy increase will be 4.58 percent.

School officials said the budget is within the tax cap limit with an estimated tax rate increase of 1.38 percent in Sleepy Hollow and tax rate reduction of 3.1 percent in Tarrytown.

The Board of Education will hold its public hearing at 8 p.m. Thursday in John Paulding School, 154 North Broadway in Tarrytown.

Superintendent Christopher Borsari said the budget strikes a balance between providing opportunities to educate, challenge and support the students while being sensitive to the needs of the taxpayers.

"This budget was also developed with the goal of fulfilling our commitment to diverse learning experiences, social-emotional learning and hands-on, engaging activities," he said.

District officials said the state budget themes for the 2022-23 budget included maintaining appropriate class size and course offerings; continuing support for after-school and summer programs to address learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing the district's reliance of the appropriated fund balance and maintaining a focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Besides the budget, there will be two other proposals on the ballot:

• Establishment of a capital reserve fund to which the district will commit surplus funds for a maximum of 10 years and $12 million.
• Approval of expected transportation costs related to the identification of a child safety zone in an area of the district where students currently walk to school but should be bused for safety reasons.

There are also two Board of Education trustee seats to be filled. The following are seeking one of the three-year terms:

• Ida Michael, Sleepy Hollow
• John Sutherland, Tarrytown
• Amanda Wallwin, Tarrytown

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 17 at two locations:

• Winfield L. Morse School, Pocantico Street, Sleepy Hollow.
• Washington Irving School, 102 South Broadway, Tarrytown.