On May 21, Livingston Manor Central School District voters approved the district’s $20 million 2024-25 budget proposal, 201-74, as well as elected two school board members.

“The support of our residents is vital for us to continue to offer a quality education to our students,” Superintendent John Evans said. “We appreciate the voters’ continued support.”

The $20,252,120 budget includes a spending increase of $886,774, or 4.58%, over the current school year’s budget, with a tax levy of $9,771,185, an increase of 2.73% or $259,544 compared to the current year.

Most of the spending increase is attributed to increases in contractual obligations, such as salaries, benefits, transportation and BOCES. The budget also includes a $100,000 capital outlay project to redesign and enhance the Family & Consumer Science classroom. LMCS will receive $68,800 in state aid in 2025-26 to offset that project’s costs. 

The two candidates elected to three-year terms on the board of education were: Chris Tuleweit, with 173 votes and Edward Gorr with 149. Also on the ballot were Frank Adamse, who received 91 votes and Elizabeth Williams. who received 80. There were also eight write-in ballots.

Original story:

Livingston Manor Central School District voters will go to the polls May 21 to decide on a $20 million budget and candidates for two school board seats.

The budget proposal calls for a spending increase of $886,774, or 4.58%, over the current school year’s budget. Most of the increase can be attributed to increases in contractual obligations, such as salaries, benefits, transportation and BOCES.

“Although our governor’s executive budget proposal contained changes to foundation aid that would have resulted in significant reduction in aid to Livingston Manor, an agreement was reached so that the proposed changes would not impact this year’s final state budget,” Superintendent John Evans said. 

The governor’s initial proposal would have cut $1.3 million in foundation aid, one of the largest sources of funding to support the district's operating budget and would have resulted in an overall loss of $1.2 million in state funding. 

"The governor has indicated changes will be coming to the foundation aid formula, possibly as soon as next year," Evans said.

To balance the budget, district leaders are proposing a tax levy of $9,771,185, an increase of 2.73% or $259,544 compared to the current year, which meets the district’s calculated tax levy limit, or cap, required by the state. Since school aid was not cut in in the final approved state budget, the district avoided dipping into reserves or relying heavily on fund balance to avoid cuts.

The district is proposing a $100,000 capital outlay project to redesign and enhance the Family & Consumer Science classroom. The classroom is outdated, and the renovations would likely be a two-phase project. The plumbing and ventilation would need to be addressed along with remodeling the kitchen to provide a safer and more efficient learning model. School districts are able to perform one $100,000 capital outlay project each year for which they receive building aid the following year. At the district’s current building aid rate of 68.8%, LMCS would receive $68,800 in 2025-26 to offset the project’s costs.

Voters will also be asked to elect two people to serve three-year terms on the school board. The seats are currently held by Jake Gorr and Frank Adamse. Four candidates have submitted petitions: Frank Adamse, Chris Tuleweit, Edward Gorr and Elizabeth Williams.

Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, in the Livingston Manor Central School District new gymnasium at 19 School St.

Under New York state education law, if the school budget is defeated, the board of education typically has two options: hold another vote in June on either the same budget or a revised budget, or adopt a contingent budget without a second vote. If residents defeat the proposed budget during a second vote, the board must adopt a contingent budget. A contingent budget contains no tax levy increase and would eliminate all non-contingent expenses, such as certain student supplies, certain equipment purchases and community use of school facilities that results in a district expense. (In other words, the district would likely need to charge fees for any community use of buildings and grounds.) The administrative budget would also be subject to certain restrictions. The district would have to cut $259,544 from school programs, staffing and equipment.Ori

New York law requires school districts to present their budgets divided into three expenditure categories — program, administrative and capital — and compare them to the previous year’s costs. Livingston Manor’s three-part budget is as follows:

2023-24 Budgeted — 2024-25 Projected

$14,973,177 / 77.3% of budget — $15,521,006/76.64% of budget

Includes salaries and benefits of all teachers and staff who deliver pupil services (guidance, health, library/media, etc.), textbooks, co-curricular activities, athletics, and transportation costs.

2023-24 Budgeted— 2024-25Projected

$2,427,550 / 12.5% of budget — $2,680,131/13.23% of budget

Includes salaries and benefits of administrators, supervisors, and administrative clerical staff, public information, printing, curriculum and staff development, school board costs, general insurance and professional fees.

2023-24 Budgeted — 2024-25 Projected

$1,964,619 /10.1% of budget — $2,050,983/10.13% of budget

Includes salaries and benefits of maintenance  and custodial staff, debt service on buildings, utilities, equipment, and court-ordered costs.

2023-24 Budgeted — 2024-25 Projected

$19,365,346 — $20,252,120

*Final rates for 2024-25 cannot be determined until assessments and equalization rates become available, typically in the summer, therefore, these are estimated tax rates (per $1,000 of assessed value) based on 2023-24 data.

This is a factor of New York state equalization rates. An equalization rate is the state’s measure of a municipality’s level of assessment: the ratio of total assessed value, determined by the municipality, to the municipality’s total market value, estimated by the state.

There are three reasons for the need for the equalization rate:

• There is no fixed percentage at which property must be assessed.

• Not all municipalities assess property at the same percentage of market value.

• Taxing jurisdictions, such as most school districts, do not share the same taxing boundaries as the cities and towns that are responsible for assessing properties.

The Real Property Tax Law requires that state equalization rates be established annually for each county, city, town, and village.

Livingston Manor has a five-member Board of Education. Each member serves three-year terms.

School board candidates must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, qualified voters in the school district and able to read and write.  They must be residents of their district continuously for one year before the election.  They cannot be employed by the board on which they will serve or live in the same household with a family member who is also a member of the same school board.

Along with traditional absentee balloting, which requires a reason for voting early, New York State allows for early voting via mail without requiring justification. Voters must fill out an application for either form. There are separate applications for each, but the application process and deadlines are the same for both.

Qualified voters may request an early voting or absentee ballot application by contacting District Clerk Marlyn Peters at Marlyn.Peters@lmcs.us or 845-439-4400, ext. 1201. May 14 is the last day for absentee applications to be received for those who will be mailing a completed ballot. May 20 is the last day for absentee ballot applications to be received in person and the completed ballot delivered by hand. Absentee ballots must be received by the district clerk by 5 p.m. May 21, 2024, to be counted.

Military voters who qualify to vote may apply for a military ballot until April 22, 2024. A military voter may designate a preference to receive a military voter registration, military ballot application or military ballot by mail, facsimile transmission or electronic mail in their request for such registration, ballot application or ballot. If a military voter does not designate a preference the appropriate school board of education or school district public library trustees, as applicable, shall transmit the military voter registration, military ballot application, and/or military ballot by mail. All absentee ballots and military ballots must be received in the clerk’s office by 5 p.m. on the day of the election.  

Voters must be 18 years old,  a U.S. citizen and a district resident for at least 30 days and be registered to vote at their county board of elections, which will automatically register you to vote at the district. The last day to register with the district is May 16. Registration may be done weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at the LMCS main office.

In New York, school leaders begin developing their school budget proposal long before the public vote in May. Each budget proposal is unique, but the planning process is similar for most schools. 

March 20: Budget discussion, 6 p.m., LMCS auditorium.

April 16: Budget proposal adoption by BOE, 6 p.m., LMCS auditorium.

April 22: School board petitions are due

May 8: Annual budget hearing, 6 p.m., LMCS auditorium.

May 16: Last day for absentee ballot applications to be received for those mailing their completed ballot.

May 17: Last day to register to vote with the district.

May 20: Last day for absentee ballots applications to be received for those who will deliver their completed ballot in person.

May 21: Voting will take place between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. in the new gymnasium.

• Proposed Budget: $20,252,120

• Proposed Budget Change: $886,774  (+4.58%)

• Proposed Tax Levy: $9,771,185

• Proposed Tax Levy Change: +$259,544 (+2.73%)

Legal Notice

Click here for a printable version of our budget flyer

Full proposed budget packet

Adopted budget

New York State Education Law requires the Livingston Manor Central School District to provide the following documents related to the school budget:

• Proposed budget with three-part budget statement

• Property tax report card

• School academic report card

• School enrollment data

• Fiscal transparency documents

• Salary disclosure requirements

• Exemption reporting for taxing jurisdictions

• 2023-24

  • Total Budget: $19,365,346

  • Budget Change: $573,373 (+3.05%)

  • School Tax Levy: $284,138 (3.08%)

• 2022-23

  • Total Budget: $18,791,973

  • Budget Change: $657,016 (+3.62%)

  • School Tax Levy: $9,227,503 (+2.68%)

• 2021-22

  • Total budget: $18,134,957

  • Budget change: $759,855 (+4.19%)

  • School tax levy: $8,986,480 (+1.49%)

Budget archive

Budget 101

What you need to know about the tax cap (video)

Printable information on tax cap