The Corning-Painted Post (C-PP) school board held a public hearing on June 11 for a newly proposed, $138,061,969 budget that voters will decide on next week.
It will be the second vote for the school district this year.
Last month, voters rejected a $139 million proposed budget with a tax levy of 4.97 percent. The tax levy was two percent above the tax cap for the district and required a 60 percent supermajority of the vote to pass.
The newly proposed school budget has a tax levy of 2.97 percent and is within the tax cap. It only requires a simple majority (50 percent plus one) in order to pass.
Cuts to jobs and programs from the new budget include some teachers, teaching assistants and assistant coaches, as well as elementary school field trips and professional development training opportunities.
It is the second time in the district’s history that the budget is up for a revote. The first time was in 2007 when it failed twice. That year, the district went with a contingency budget.
If this new budget proposal fails at the polls, a contingency budget automatically goes into effect for the 2024-25 school year.
The contingency budget does not require a vote. It includes only the essentials legally required to maintain and operate school buildings and educational programming, and the tax levy cannot exceed the previous year’s levy. The C-PP contingency budget is $1,732,962 less than the newly proposed budget, coming in at $136,329,007. It would require additional reductions to some school programs, staff and services.
The bond approval of $944,000 for new buses and equipment for schools was not affected by the new budget. It was approved by the voters on May 21 and remains in effect for the 2024-25 school year.
The revote for residents in the Corning-Painted Post area school district will be held on Tuesday, June 18 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Official results for the budget revote will be available on June 20.
More details about the budget and polling locations can be found on the school district's website.