Things just keep getting better.

Croton-Harmon Schools Returns $1 Million to Taxpayers

The Croton-Harmon Board of Education has set the tax warrant at $35,648,204 which is $1 million less than was anticipated in May. As a result, the residents of the district in both the Town of Cortlandt and the Town of Yorktown will see an overall decrease in the tax rate for the 2010-11 school year.

At the time of the budget vote last May, the school tax rate for residents of the Town of Cortlandt was expected to be an increase of 1.64% over the previous year. The result of the return of $1 million to the taxpayers will allow the district to reduce the school tax rate resulting in a 1.17% decrease for residents in the Town of Cortlandt. For the residents in Yorktown, the tax rate will be further reduced to an overall 5.08% decrease in the school tax rate for 2010-11.

District officials attribute the decrease in the tax rate to a conservative approach by the Board and the administration in developing the 2009-2010 budget with additional savings realized through a variety of different mechanisms during the recently concluded school year. The district froze expenditures early in the year. Lower than expected costs for diesel fuel, natural gas and electrical costs and the repayment of the MTA tax obligation by the state produced additional savings. In addition, state aid was not further reduced during the school year as had been predicted. The district has always had a conservative approach to such revenue sources because New York State has not always provided the funds it stipulates at the beginning of the year.

In addition to reducing the school tax rate, The Croton-Harmon Board of Education will also allocate funds to support necessary capital projects in the district’s three schools. In the spring of 2009, voters approved the creation of the Capital Reserve to set aside funds for the repair and maintenance of school facilities. The Capital Reserve fund includes building aid received from the state for district-wide building renovation and additional project work completed in 2005. The Board expects to use the Capital Reserve Fund to address needed roof repair/replacement in our buildings.

Any additional savings not dedicated to tax rate reduction or the Capital Reserve Fund will be allocated to the district’s unrestricted fund balance to help ensure Croton-Harmon’s long-term fiscal health. This fund enables the district to absorb increasing mandated costs (which currently account for 16% of the district’s operating budget), other increasing expenditures, and losses in revenue resulting from the current fiscal climate.

“We believe that in these tough economic times it is important to provide our taxpayers with substantial financial relief,” said Croton-Harmon Superintendent of Schools Edward Fuhrman. “This is a win-win for our community as it allows us to give back to the taxpayers while capitalizing on the current construction market and preserving our school infrastructure for the long haul. We will still maintain a responsible fund balance to guard against potential spikes in the tax rate brought on by reductions in school aid and other losses of revenue and costs which we cannot control.”

“I want to thank our community for its continued support and all those who played a role in our “Building the Budget” initiative this spring” said Croton-Harmon Board of Education President Karen Zevin. “We are pleased to decrease the tax burden to our community during these trying economic times. We will continue to balance quality educational programs with fiscal responsibility.”