Schools

Brewster School Budget Passes

Brewster School Budget PassesPosted by Ashley Tarr (Editor), May 21, 2013 at 10:26 pm Comment   Recommend  Sylvia Riolo, election worker


View the video above for the unofficial results of Proposition 1 (the budget), Proposition 2 (school bus purchase) and school board trustee elections.

Voters in the Brewster Central School District approved a $85,999,723 budget—which carries a 1.94-percent tax levy increase—for the 2013-2014 school year Tuesday. 
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An unofficial tally showed 1,308 "yes" votes and 564 "no" votes. The second proposition, which asked folks to approve borrowing of $430,000 for the purchase of four buses/vans for student transportation, also passed: 1,223 to 639.

Newcomer Diane O'Brien and incumbent S. Peter Pastore won the two school board seats, with 946 and 914 votes each, respectively. Hopefuls Elizabeth Cullen and Daniel E. Armstrong received 863 and 502 votes, respectively.

O'Brien said she's very excited to start on the board, and she's looking forward to the work.

"It was a question of getting the word out," O'Brien said. "I was fairly confident I guess."

Pastore felt pretty confident, too. He was relieved Tuesday night, and ready to "get back to business."

"I felt like the last three years was a learning process for me to try and learn everything that's going on," he said. "And now that I know it, it would be selfish if I didn't run. So there was no other option for me but to run."

Pastore is looking forward to seeing full-day kindergarten implemented—a change that comes with the 2013-2014 budget. He also knows drafting next year's spending plan isn't as far off as it seems.

"It's just going to be a challenge again next year with the budget," he said. "Every year."

That's a feeling Dr. Stephen Jambor, president of the board of education, shares. He was not confident the budget would pass.

"You cannot take a school budget for granted and you have to work for it and then you really have to wait be patient and be humble," he said. "I feel very relieved because the plurality here suggests that it didn't just get passed, that there was a lot of support, and that's what you want."

When asked if that support was a good sign for future budgets, Jambor hesitated.

"One year at a time," he said. "We'll see. You have to, each year, make no assumptions, listen to the conversation and try to be responsive."


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