Lyndonville school budget proposes 1% tax increase

Photo by Tom Rivers: Bart Schuler, school business administrator, goes over a proposed $17,664,583 school budget during a hearing on Monday evening at the Stroyan Auditorium.

LYNDONVILLE – The school district is proposing a $17,664,583 budget for the 2024-25 school year that increases spending 4.3 percent.

The budget would raise taxes by 1 percent or by $46,649 to $4,711,576.

District Superintendent Sharon Smith said the budget keeps robust academic and extracurricular programs for students. She noted AP and college classes are available at no charge to students, while music, the arts and athletics remain a priority.

“This budget allows for continuation of important programs,” Smith said in a budget message in the school newsletter.

Eligible voters 18 and older will go to polls from noon to 8 p.m. on May 21 in the school’s Stroyan Foyer.

Smith also noted the budget continues to offer free breakfast and lunch for all students, keeps a school resource officer, and has the district geared up for a capital project that could start in the fall.

State aid covers 71.2 percent of Lyndonville’s budget with the tax levy the second-biggest source of revenue at 26.7 percent.

Lyndonville is Orleans County’s smallest school district with an enrollment of 538 students. The district said enrollment is holding steady and is projected to remain the same next school year.

The district will also present a proposition for funding the local Yates Community Library, with an increase from $124,808 to $135,316.

There are also six candidates for three positions on the Board of Education that are three-year terms. The candidates include George Avery, Megan Bruning, Susan Hrovat, Ted Lewis, Steven Vann and Patrick Whipple.