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Pleasantville board fails to approve preliminary budget as residents and trustees clash over cuts and tax increase
Summary
At a special April 28 meeting the Pleasantville Board of Education failed to pass preliminary budget items after heated public comment and board questions; administration said proposed staff reductions were trimmed from about 40 to 32 and that a healthcare adjustment and return of 18 out-of-district students would offset costs.
The Board of Education of the City of Pleasantville on April 28 failed to approve preliminary budget items after residents, board members and the superintendent sparred over proposed staff reductions, a tax-levy increase and cuts to preschool courtesy bussing.
Resident Joanne Famularo opened public comment by pressing administrators about the timing and transparency of budget materials, saying she could not "read and comprehend during a meeting and be expected to vote properly and intelligently when something is handed out minutes before you're supposed to vote on it." Several residents echoed that demand for an itemized list of positions to be cut rather than names.
Superintendent Dr. Martinez responded in the presentation and Q&A that the administration had reduced the proposed personnel reduction from about 40 positions to 32, and credited program changes that would bring 18 out-of-district high-school students back into district schools. "By the return of 18 out of district high school students, we were able to save approximately $1,315,000 in tuition and transportation services," she said. She also said the district is invoking a healthcare adjustment, which contributed about $2.4 million, and described the total tax-levy increase as $2.6 million toward a $13 million levy.
Board members repeatedly asked for clearer itemization. "If you know what needs to be cut, you know the positions," said one member pressing the administration for a department-by-department list; the superintendent replied that HR and contractual seniority determine which specific employees are notified and that position-by-department information would be supplied to the board consistent with regulations.
Parents and board members raised particular concern about the recommendation to eliminate three preschool classrooms at the high school, a change administrators said would return preschool students to neighborhood elementary schools and allow the district to reduce courtesy bussing for preschool. "It sounds okay until the weather changes for those that's walking to school, especially our little tiny people," a board member said during Q&A, reflecting parents' safety concerns.
During the meeting the board voted on agenda items 3.1–3.4 (personnel/budget-related); the motion, made by Mrs. Sanchez and seconded by Mr. Marino, failed on a roll-call vote, leaving the preliminary submission unapproved. After the vote, public commenters including Joanne Fenimore Row reiterated that the district had not engaged union representatives in negotiations and demanded disclosure of positions affected rather than names.
Why it matters: the failed vote leaves the district without board approval of the preliminary personnel/budget items and prolongs uncertainty for staff and families. The administration says it used one-time and recurring revenue sources in the proposal — state aid, federal grants, prior-year surplus and a healthcare adjustment — but board members and residents told trustees they need clearer, itemized position and transportation impacts before acting.
The board discussed forming 'committee-as-a-whole' meetings to improve information flow and scheduled further procedural steps; the preliminary budget will remain subject to revision and future board consideration.
