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Chappaqua Voters To Decide On $117.9M School Budget, $3M Library Budget

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. -- Chappaqua Central School District voters will decide on Tuesday, May 19, whether to approve the proposed 2015-16 school and library budgets, which are around $117.9 million and $3 million, respectively. 

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The proposed school budget includes total spending of $117,901,688, which the district says is an increase of $1,044,700 or 0.89 percent from the current budget.

The school budget's proposed tax levy, which represents the total amount of property tax revenue, is $105,968,116, a rise of 1.07 percent. The district notes that the levy increase comes in under the tax cap, which is a state mandate that limits annual levy increases.

The district has projected tax rates for its two component towns, which measure what taxpayers would owe per $1,000 of assessed property value. For New Castle, the rate is projected to rise to $105.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, or by 1.17 percent. Residents in Mount Pleasant would see a projected decrease to $1,354.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, or a drop of 1.14 percent.

The tax rates are different between the towns due to the use of equalization rates, equations handed down by the state that are used to reconcile the differences in the towns' assessed values in relation to their full market values. 

Also on the ballot is a proposition to decide on authorizing the renovation of the Horace Greeley High School cafeteria, with up to $600,000 in spending allowed. The district notes that it already has the cash on hand but would be transferring it from to a capital fund, which means there would be no tax impact.

Regarding the library budget, total proposed spending is $3,020,724, which includes a spending increase of just under two percent. The tax levy would rise to $2,960,124, an increase of $57,340. It comes in under the state-mandated tax levy cap by $9, which allows a maximum amount of $2,960,133. 

The projected tax rates for the library budget are around $2.94 per $1,000 of assessed value in New Castle, which is a 2.07-percent increase, and around $37.83 per $1,000 of assessed value in Mount Pleasant, which is a 0.25-percent decrease.

Voters will also decide on a school board election and a library board election. Alyson Gardner, the board's current vice president, is running unopposed. Maggie Christ is running unopposed for the library board seat.

Voting is scheduled to take place from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Horace Greeley High School's gym.

The library's budget and board seat are tied to school voting because the Chappaqua Library is part of the school district.

An overview guide for voters is available here, while a school budget presentation can be viewed here. A presentation of the proposed library board is available here.

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