Wynantskill UFSD is pleased to announce that the budget and propositions all passed on May 21. Thank you for voting!

• The budget passed 130 to 40.
• The proposition to purchase two school buses passed 142 to 28.
• The proposition to create a Capital Reserve Fund passed 134 to 37.
• The proposition to fund a Repair Reserve Fund passed 136 to 34.
• Cathleen Castle (158) and Andrew Lanesey (141) were elected to three-year terms on the Board of Education.

School Nurse Tricia Gibbs would like to remind families of health requirements for next year.

• All students entering grades K, 1, 3, 5 and 7 will need to submit an updated physical. This physical can be no older than one year on the first day of school.
• All students entering Grade 6 need to submit verification of receiving two Varicella vaccines, and a Tdap vaccine at age 11. If your child is not yet 11 when entering 6th grade, they have until two weeks after their 11th birthday to submit proof of TDap vaccine.
• All students entering 7th grade need to submit verification of receiving a Meningitis vaccine.
• All immunization records and updated physical forms should be submitted within the first two weeks of school.

Please let Ms. Gibbs know if you have any concerns or questions. Thank you.

The Board of Education adopted a proposed 2019-20 school budget on Apr. 11 that preserves programs for students while planning for the district’s continued enrollment growth.

The proposed budget totals $9,797,480, a 3.6% increase over the 2018-2019 budget. The estimated 2.52% tax levy increase is once again within New York’s Property Tax Cap. It requires no cuts to staff.

Our community will vote on the proposed budget Tuesday, May 21 from noon to 9:00 p.m.

Highlights of the budget include:

• Increases library media specialist from 0.8 to 0.9 full-time equivalency to enhance middle school library access and collaboration opportunities with teachers.
• Maintains a teaching assistant assigned to grades 3 and 5 to address those grades relatively larger class sizes.
• Continues the district’s Pre-Kindergarten program with one classroom for students.
• Maintains textbook and supply funding to support all curriculum areas.
• Maintains hardware and software funding to support technology for all grades.

“We continue to look for ways to create opportunities for students while being mindful of our taxpayers,” said Superintendent Dr. Thomas Reardon. “This budget ensures we’re planning for the short term and long term to avoid spikes in future spending.”

One long-term challenge the budget helps plan for is future tuition payments for students to attend high schools. Graduating classes will begin to increase after the Class of 2019.

“Our enrollment is growing,” said Dr. Reardon. “We had a little over 300 students when I started here three years ago and now we’re over 400. It’s great that our district is growing but we have to plan for the future costs for our students to attend high school.”

On May 21, voters will also decide on a proposition to purchase two school buses (as part of the district’s long-term bus replacement program) and propositions to create a Capital Reserve and Repair Reserve. The Capital Reserve and Repair Reserve will help the district plan for long- and short-term maintenance of building and grounds without impacting general funds.

The district will share more budget details in the upcoming weeks including a newsletter mailed to all residents.