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Candidates defend budget record, cite unspent grants and transportation changes
Summary
Dr. Michelle Rivers said she supports the district budget and highlighted unspent grant amounts that she said could be used for staff; incumbent Timothy Sasson pointed to conservative average levy increases and investment gains as examples of fiscal stewardship.
Dr. Michelle Rivers told voters she supports the district’s proposed budget and described it as fiscally sound, saying, "I do support this year's budget. We are at 1.75. But we did not pierce the tax levy." She also noted unspent grant funds she said should be used: in her remarks she referenced an IDEA (Part B 611) carryover she described as $270,000 unspent and a Title II carryover she described as $52,000 unspent.
Sasson highlighted long-term restraint in levy increases, saying the district’s average over 10 years had been less than 1 percent and that recent adjustments had kept the budget under the state cap. He also cited district investment returns — putting revenues from reinvested reserves into CDs and money market accounts — as contributing to available funds.
Both candidates discussed bus transportation: Rivers referenced district transportation planning and a child-safety-zone report that she said could expand bus pickups; Sasson said he would support changes reducing walking distance eligibility (from a mile to a half-mile) to increase bus access. Neither candidate proposed specific new spending lines; no board votes occurred during the forum.
