Legislator worries about shrinking school enrollment

KENDALL – Kendall Central School District residents will see five propositions, including the 2015-16 budget, on the May 19 ballot.

School Board of Education members and District Superintendent Julie Christensen presented the budget during the annual meeting on Wednesday.

The proposed 2015-16 budget is $15.07 million and is Proposition 1 on the ballot. The budget includes a 0 percent increase in the tax levy.

Although enrollment continues to decline, there is no reduction in staff. The overall budget represents a 1.62 percent increase over the 2014-15 budget.

Christensen explained that the budget remains relatively flat because increases in cost of living have been offset by a decrease in pension costs, a decline in health insurance costs and energy savings from the district’s energy performance contract.

The proposed tax rate for Town of Kendall residents is $17.39 per $1,000 of assessed value. Property owners will see an estimated increase in their tax bill of $3 for a house assessed at $100,000, “mostly due to the PILOT agreement for the Cottages at Troutburg project,” Christensen said.

Proposition 2 would create a school bus replacement reserve fund not to exceed $100,000 annually.

Proposition 3 would allow the purchase of school buses to replace existing vehicles at a sum not to exceed $250,000.

Proposition 4 would allow the creation of a capital improvement reserve fund not to exceed $5 million.

Propositions 2, 3, and 4 will have no additional taxes if approved, the district said.

Proposition 5 is the election of one, five-year term member to the Board of Education. Current School Board President Nadine Hanlon is the incumbent and is seeking re-election. She is the only candidate for the single open seat.

Hanlon says she has enjoyed serving the last five years on the board. “I’ve gained a lot of knowledge,” she said. “It’s been a pleasure to work with this board.”

She noted that she looks forward to moving ahead with the district’s “wonderful capital project” and the Urban/Suburban program that would welcome Rochester students to Kendall.

Orleans County Legislator Ken DeRoller attended the meeting. During the public comment portion of the hearing, DeRoller expressed concern over the average loss of 28 students from the district each year and explained Orleans and Niagara counties are working together to bring broadband to the community, which would help draw more businesses and new residents.

He also discussed the PILOT for the Cottages at Troutburg which is impacting the school budget for the first time.

“There are new investors” for the project, DeRoller said about the development at the former Salvation Army camp by Lake Ontario “It is a positive and robust picture at this point.”

DeRoller also said Kendall is in a “tough spot” due to a “flattening of the assessment roll.” He explained additionally there has been, on average, the construction of only one new home in Kendall each year over the last 10 years.

He explained the county, school district and town will work together to help the community grow.

“We have tough work ahead of us,” he said.

The Annual District Vote will be held May 19 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Kendall Elementary School gymnasium. Voters must be at least 18 years of age, a U.S. citizen and a legal resident of the Kendall Central School District for at least 30 prior to the vote. Proper ID is also required. Applications for absentee ballots can be obtained through the district clerk.

Provided photos
KENDALL – About 50 volunteers were out picking up trash along Kendall roadsides on Saturday during the Kendall Lions Club’s annual Environmental Cleanup Day.

In addition to the Kendall Lions, volunteers included Kendall Central School Leo Club, local Boy Scouts, area church groups, Kendall town officials and other Kendall community members.

Volunteers arrived at the Town Highway Building and were given a safety vest purchased by the Lions club to wear while covering almost 34 miles of town roads.

At the end of the morning a flat-bed trailer was filled with the bags of trash and several items were recycled through the e-waste program.

KENDALL – The Board of Education approved a $15,065,842 budget on Wednesday that represents a 1.59 percent budget-to-budget increase, Superintendent Julie Christensen said.

A public hearing on the 2015-16 budget and propositions is set for 7 p.m. on May 6 at the High School Commons. The annual District Budget Vote and elections will take place from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on May 19 at the Elementary School Gymnasium.

Kendall will keep the tax levy flat by using a $400,000 increase in state aid.

Although the tax levy is holding steady, the tax rate will increase slightly, less than 0.5 percent, Christensen said. She noted the tax rate increase relates to the PILOT agreement for the Cottages at Troutburg project.

“The budget looks good,” she said. “There are no changes for student programs.”

Christensen explained that increases in the budget mainly involve a rise in the number of incoming kindergarteners who have special needs and will require the hiring of additional teacher and bus aides.

The district is also in need of technology equipment, particularly with changes to classrooms that are part of the Capital Improvement Project.

KENDALL – Members of the Kendall Central School District Board of Education have voted to join the Urban-Suburban program, in which students from the Rochester City School District attend schools outside city limits.

The program is marking its 50th anniversary this year and is funded by the New York State Education Department and the Rochester City School District.

“Five districts have joined this year,” Kendall School Superintendent Julie Christensen said.

Two of those districts include Hilton and Spencerport.

Joining the Urban-Suburban program is part of non-resident enrollment options Kendall will utilize in the upcoming school year to combat declining student numbers.

Christensen said current enrollment at Kendall is 718 students, down from 759 a year ago and 724 just last month.

The April 15 Kendall School Board of Education meeting was the third meeting where the board sought public input on the issue.

“This is a win-win for everybody,” Board Vice-President Chris Gerken said.

One parent in the audience said she felt the program is “fabulous” and provides opportunities for city students which they might not otherwise have.

Kendall can determine how many students it will accept and students can be removed from the program if the district so decides. The district can also opt out of the program if it wishes.

Gerken said he is “100 percent for the program,” but proposed that board members “discuss it next year” to access if the program is working in the district.

The district estimates that Urban-Suburban will bring $12,000 in aid per each student that is accepted.

Kendall is also offering enrollment to non-resident staff children and non-resident, non-staff committee approved children whose families would pay tuition to attend school in the district.

The Board approved non-resident tuition rates which will be 50 percent of state recommended tuition for the first student; 30 percent of state tuition for a second student and 10 percent of state tuition for any additional students.

The state recommends tuition of $2,440 for grades K-6 and $5,051 for students in grades 7-12. Special education tuition rates are significantly higher.

Photos by Thom Jennings
KENDALL – Kendall High School students performed Pippin with three shows from Thursday to Saturday.

In this photo, Pippin is played by Nicholas Schuth and Connor Henion is Charlemagne (The King).

Pippin is a musical full of acrobatics, magical feats and songs from the composer of Wicked.

Carley Lester is the Leading Player in the musical.

Ken Price plays Lewis, a strongman.

Photos by Tom Rivers
KENDALL – Randy Unterborn (left), president of the Kendall Lions Club, is pictured with Clifford Provost, one of the charter members of the club that formed on Jan. 19, 1975. Provost and Cole Hardenbrook have remained members of the club for all 40 of its years.

“I just like the thought of service,” said Provost, a World War II veteran who worked for Kodak for 40 years. “We really should be committed to helping our community.”

These are tough times for many local service clubs. Their memberships have dropped, forcing many of the local clubs to cut back on service projects and donations to community causes.

The Kendall Lions Club remains strong with 64 members, one of the biggest service organizations in Orleans County.

The club meets the first and third Thursdays at the Kendall Fire Hall. The club welcomes different speakers for their meetings. Last night I was invited to talk about Orleans Hub.

The Lions support many youth and community initiatives. Unterborn is in his second stint as president. He works as the head of the grounds department at Hilton Central School. He joined the Lions Club about 18 years ago.

“We got a good, strong club and we have a lot of fun,” Unterborn said on Thursday night.

Terry Bliss has been a Kendall Lion for 25 years. He recently served as district governor. Kendall, with 64 members, is in the top three for membership of about 40 clubs in the district.

The club joins for dinner, singing and updates on community projects.

Provided photos by Alyssa Baker

KENDALL – A Snowy Owl was caught in Kendall on Tuesday in a field near Kludt Farms in Kendall. Andrew Kludt is holding the owl that was caught by Tom McDonald.

A member of Braddock Bay Raptor Research, McDonald (bottom left) collected photos, measurements, and other data for research on the owl before letting the creature go.

Provided photo – The Kendall Community Choir will do its fifth annual benefit concert for the local food pantry at 7 p.m. today at the David J. Doyle Junior-Senior High School.

KENDALL – The Kendall Community Choir will perform in one of its biggest events of the year tonight. The 41-member choir will perform Christmas music and Broadway tunes in a concert to benefit the local food pantry.

The audience is encouraged to bring in canned and other nonperishable food for the food pantry at the Kendall United Methodist Church. A goodwill offering for cash donations will also be taken for the food pantry.

“This will help them a great deal for both Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said Mary Campbell, the choir director.

The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the David J. Doyle Junior-Senior High School.

The choir started seven years ago and for the past five years has performed the benefit concert for the food pantry. The choir has used past performances to raise money for the Kendall Park Gazebo Fund, the 2012 Kendall Bicentennial, and the Kendall Fire Department Ambulance Fund.

School leader worries about declining enrollment

Photo by Tom Rivers – Kendall Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata says the town is working to extend public waterlines in Kendall.

KENDALL – Town officials were asked on Tuesday to push to extend public water in the town and also to target abandoned and distressed houses.

The lack of public water and the unkempt houses is a deterrent to growing the community, said Nadine Hanlon, president of the Kendall Board of Education. She offered to write letters to state officials, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, if it would improve the town’s chances for a public water project.

The school district keeps shrinking. It had 762 students last school year and is now down to 729, a 4.3 percent drop. In 2001, Kendall had a student enrollment of 1,132. It is down by 403 students or 35.6 percent over 13 years.

“To me that’s very concerning,” Hanlon told the Town Board.

She sees some of the distressed properties as potential housing for young families if the sites could be improved. Public water lines could also draw more families to Kendall, she said.

“Anything you can do to get more water in the community and clean up the houses,” she told the Town Board.

She noted the school district is about to upgrade its facilities and the district also has been recognized as a leader for student achievement.

“We strive to provide a great education, but we can’t do that without children in our schools,” Hanlon said.

The Town Board is working on a new Water District that would include Kendall Road, Norway Road and Creek Road in the northern part of town. Kendall’s chances for federal funding for the project increase if the majority of the households in the district are low to moderate income, with $56,000 considered the threshold, said Tony Cammarata, the town supervisor.

Kendall needs at least 80 percent of the property owners in the district to complete income surveys. By Monday, the town reached the 80 percent mark with 63 out of 78 turned in. Cammarata also said the majority are under the $56,000 threshold.

The town will take the next step in the process, which could be adding more homes to the district or forming the district with the three roads.

“I’m sitting here at a very high confidence level that we’re moving to the next level,” Cammarata said.

Two other residents said abandoned and unsightly properties are driving down property values and driving away potential residents. Carol D’Agostino, the high school principal and life-time Kendall resident, suggested the town and local service clubs could offer to haul away some junk and debris from properties. The items could be collected or dropped off at the town and then hauled away.

Cammarata said he would see if a committee could be formed to pursue the “Town Cleanup Day.”

Lynn Mael, a Kenmor Road resident, says a neighbor has moved out of a house and left it abandoned and in disarray. The site is owned by the Bank of America and attracts rodents, said Mael, a former code enforcement officer. He suggested the town look into condemning the property.

Paul Hennekey, the current codes officer, said he wants to avoid condemning sites because of the legal process involved. It’s also difficult to resell and rehabilitate condemned sites, he said.

Hennekey agreed there are many properties in distress in Kendall.

“The abandoned buildings are a problem,” he said. “My approach is to keep them sealed and mowed. But sometimes it is hard to find a contact for the owner.”

The Town Board on Tuesday welcomed Wayne Martin to his first meeting as town councilman. He won an election on Nov. 4. Rather than wait until Jan. 1 for Martin to take office, Cammarata and the Town Board appointed Martin to a vacant position on the board caused by the resignation of Patrick Snook.

Martin served 30 years in the Navy, including 20 years of active duty. He works part-time for a pool company in Spencerport and also part-time for the Public Safety Training Facility in Rochester, maintaining equipment. He’s also a CPR instructor.