Liverpool, North Syracuse school budget, BOE elections are May 17

LIVERPOOL — Residents of the Liverpool and North Syracuse school districts head to the polls on Tuesday, May 17, to vote on their respective districts’ 2022-23 school budget and slate of school board candidates.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. May 17.

The polling place for the Liverpool Central School District is the Wetzel Road Gym.

There are two polling places for the North Syracuse Central School District. Residents who live SOUTH of Route 481 vote at the Administrative Office Building (5355 West Taft Road, North Syracuse). Residents who live NORTH of Route 481 vote at Cicero Elementary School (5979 Route 31, Cicero).

Read on for the highlights of each district’s budget.

Liverpool Central School District

Budget highlights

Appropriations for the 2022-23 budget total $173,451,163. The estimated tax levy will be $92,454,745. Other revenue breaks down as follows:

• State aid: $74,692,024
• Federal aid: $300,000
• Fund balance: $3,760,950
• Other revenue (sales tax, PILOT agreements, charges for services and more): $2,243,444

Proposition 2, the annual bus purchase proposition, requests the purchase of six large school buses, two large school buses with double luggage boxes, three small school buses with air conditioning, one small school bus with wheelchair capability, two Chevy Suburbans, one 8-by-24-foot heavy-duty enclosed utility trailer and one heavy-duty delivery truck with a 26-foot dry van body and heavy-duty liftgate. The total cost of the bus proposition is $1,755,463.

Proposition 3 seeks to establish a capital reserve fund in which the district can set aside money annually for future renovations or major purchases.

Also on the ballot are the Liverpool Public Library’s budget and trustee candidates. To learn more, visit lpl.org.

For a full Liverpool school budget breakdown, please refer to the Budget Edition of the Liverpool School Bell, which was mailed to residents and can be found at liverpool.k12.ny.us.

BOE candidates

There are seven candidates running for three 4-year terms and one 1-year term on the Liverpool Board of Education:

• Erika Adigun
• Nicholas Blaney
• Craig Dailey
• Hayley Downs
• Alicia Letta
• Kimberly Martin
• Jason Sobotka

Click here to learn more.

North Syracuse Central School District

Budget highlights

Appropriations for the 2022-23 budget will total $188,367,855. The tax levy will be $98,574,564. Other revenue — payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreements, county sales tax, $5.25 million in fund balance and other sources — totals $9,966,110. North Syracuse is set to receive $79,827,181 in state aid.

Proposition 2, the annual bus purchase proposition, seeks to purchase ten 65-passenger gasoline engine school buses; two 42-passenger gasoline engine school buses with three wheelchair positions, hydraulic lift and air conditioning; and five maintenance and operations department vehicles. The total cost is not to exceed $1,890,381. After state aid and before STAR exemptions, the annual tax impact on a $100,000 home would be about $2.61.

Proposition 3 addresses an air conditioning issue at North Syracuse Junior High School. The chiller system needs to be replaced at a cost of $1.4 million. The district is covering the local share of the cost from its fund balance, so there is no additional tax impact for this project.

Taxpayers will also be off the hook for Proposition 4, a $7.5 million initiative to replace outdated lighting systems with LEDs and make other energy saving tweaks to older buildings in the district. State aid and the NSCSD’s fund balance will cover the cost.

The NSCSD ballot also includes the Salina Library’s budget proposition. To learn more, visit salinalibrary.org.

For a full budget breakdown, please refer to the Budget Edition of District Dispatch, which was mailed to residents and can be found at nscsd.org.