SARATOGA SPRINGS - The Saratoga Springs City School District held a Board of Education meeting on March 24, the last formal meeting of the board prior to the state approval of the budget on April 1.
The Board was presented with more on the grant portion of the budget before the next meeting on April 12, where final recommendations will be made before the Board adopts the budget.
Some grants that the Saratoga Springs City School District receives are Title Funds that support free and reduced lunch, which are also distributed to nonpublic schools where district students might be attending; McKinney-Vento Assistance for homeless children; 611 and 619 federal allocations for students with special education and related services; and Universal Pre-K.
The SSCSD has also been receiving aid under the COVID Response and Recovery Framework. Although the CARES Act ends in June, the district will continue to receive $5.8 million in GEER (Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund) and ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds through September 2023. How this grant works is that the district is reimbursed for their expenditures that fall into the accepted categories for the full amount. For the 2021-2022 school year, the district’s expenditures totaled $1.2 million on summer programming, tutoring, third party assessments, and consulting, and adding attendance officers, teaching assistants, school counselors, and more. The district plans to spend the same amount for the 2022-2023 school year to support the same things listed.
The SSCSD will also continue to receive $4 million in ARP (American Rescue Plan) funds through September 2024. During the 2021-2022 school year, the district spent $1.7 million of these funds on substitutes, COVID coordinators, and American Reading Company materials, among other things. It is anticipated that the district will spend the same amount to support these things as needed.
For the 2022-2023 budget, the district is right under the tax levy limit at 2.9%.
Some upcoming dates include Meet the Candidates on May 4, the budget hearing on May 10, and the budget vote on May 17.
Recognitions
The BOE Meeting was also used to recognize several individuals from the district including members of the Boys Alpine Skiing Team who went on to win titles in the NYSPHSAA State Championships this season.
The BOE also approved the retirement of and thanked Lake Avenue Elementary School Principal Dr. Barbara Messier.
