$41 million school budget to go before Canton voters May 21

Thomas Graser, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·2 min read

Apr. 24—CANTON — The Canton Central School District Board of Education has approved a budget that will go before voters on May 21 from noon to 8 p.m. in the high school library.

Superintendent Susan E. Todd will hold a budget presentation on May 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the high school auditorium.

The budget comes with a 6.5% tax increase and the elimination of five positions. The positions to be eliminated include two teachers from Banford Elementary School, one teacher from McKenney Middle School and two teacher aides.

Board members Catherine Devins and Christopher Marquart voted against eliminating the teaching positions.

Devins was the sole vote against the budget.

School board members Wendy Todd and Christina Martin were absent.

In February, board members voted to implement a 6.5% tax increase. They could have gone as high as 8.9%

"After the debate on how to balance the needs of the students of Canton Central while being fiscally responsible to the district taxpayers, the board settled on a 6.5% increase," Todd said in February.

The 6.5% increase will bring the tax rate to $25.55 per thousand of assessed value.

The rate in 2023-24 was $23.99 per thousand.

The tax levy will be $11,820,319.

Without exemptions, a homeowner with property worth $175,000 will pay $4,472 in 2024, an annual increase of $273 and a monthly increase of $23.

With a Basic STAR exemption, that same taxpayer will see a tax bill of $3,705, an annual increase of $226, which breaks down to $19 per month.

With Enhanced STAR, the tax bill is $2,392. That's an annual increase of $150 annually or $12 monthly.

At Monday's meeting, four members spoke about the transparent way the superintendent worked on the budget with board members.

Marquart voted against the resolution to eliminate the teacher positions but voted for the budget.

"I cannot in good conscience vote in favor of eliminating positions until I really understand the impact on the education of my children," he said. "We have not been given what I see as strong data, benchmarking data to understand how we fall among our peers as well as among schools a little smaller and a little larger."

The final budget is $41,825,000, which is 12.55% higher than 2023-24's, and $37,160,000.

The tax levy of $11,820,319 is up from $11,098,319 in 2023-24.