Board member says contingency would require just over $1.4 million in cuts if budget fails

Brendan Carty, a member of the Cornwall Board of Education, said the school board would have two options if the district's proposed budget fails the May 20 vote at Cornwall Central Middle School: hold a second vote or adopt a contingency budget that keeps the same tax levy as last year and requires cuts.

Carty said a contingency budget would force the district to cut "just over $1,400,000" from the proposed budget to match last year's tax levy. He said newly proposed positions and expenses account for about $270,000 of this year's proposal, with roughly $1,200,000 attributable to year-over-year increases in salaries, transportation, insurance and utilities.

"This would have an unavoidable impact on every aspect of our district, academics, staff, arts, athletics," Carty said. He also urged voters to "remember to vote next Tuesday, May 20 at Cornwall Central Middle School."

Carty explained that the required reduction would not simply eliminate new items in the budget; to reach the contingency limit the district would need to reduce about $1,200,000 from last year's programming in addition to removing new spending. The board member framed the two choices as procedural: seeking voter approval again with a second vote, possibly with amendments, or adopting a contingency budget that by rule would keep the previous year's tax levy.

No formal board action or vote on either option was recorded in the remarks summarized here; Carty presented the scenarios as information for voters ahead of the scheduled election.

The district and board will proceed according to the results of the May 20 vote and any subsequent formal motions the board chooses to make.