Keene Central School (Enterprise file photo)

KEENE — Voters in the Keene Central School District rejected a $9.3 million proposed budget at the polls on Tuesday, and elected two newcomers to fill two vacant school board seats.

The proposed budget carried a 4.65% tax levy increase that would have been above the state-imposed 3.03% levy increase cap, so it required a 60% supermajority of voters to pass, instead of a simple majority.

The budget failed according to unofficial vote totals — only getting 53.75% of the vote, with 215 votes to pass it and 185 votes to not pass it.

Superintendent Dan Mayberry said the district will hold a revote on a reduced, tax cap-compliant budget on June 17. This will require cutting $138,589 from the budget that was rejected on Tuesday.

The revote will be taken on June 17 at Keene Central School with polls open from noon to 8 p.m. at the main entrance. The district will hold a hearing on the new, reduced budget on June 3 at 5:30 p.m. in the school auditorium. If this budget does not pass, the district will fall back on a contingency budget — maintaining the same tax levy from the current year.

“If it doesn’t (pass), there’s going to be a huge stream of cuts of things that are the things that you want to do for kids, the things that you need to do,” Mayberry said.

Mayberry said the district proposed a budget above the tax cap because of the circumstances it’s in, with rising costs in health insurance, salaries and general items.

“Trying to make a budget that will be sustainable for the course of a year and allow us to run a student program without having to make changes to that program during the school year is really our goal,” Mayberry said.

The rejected proposed budget would have carried a $7,510,993 tax levy. This new budget would carry a $7,372,404 tax levy.

“We need to make some adjustments in the budget,” he said of creating a new budget for the revote. “It does not appear to be staffing at this point. … We’re going to budget for what we have today rather than budgeting for what could happen. It’s going to make everything a lot tighter.”

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Cuts

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Mayberry is not entirely sure what will be cut to reduce the budget, but said equipment and potential increased employee benefits are on the chopping block. A lot of school budgeting is planning for what could happen, he said, and he’s hoping for the best for the coming school year.

For example, the district is legally required to offer health insurance. Not everyone takes it. But at any point, an employee who was not taking the health insurance could start to take it. If this happens, the school would have to give them health insurance, and potentially take out debt or cut something else to afford that.

The budget includes a new special education teacher position.

“That’s based on the needs of our students,” he said.

The Keene district’s tax levy has exceeded the tax cap several times in recent years.

Last year’s KCSD budget, which was significantly above the tax cap, passed narrowly with 61.25% of the vote — passing by only six votes. The year before, voters approved a budget with a tax levy massively over the tax cap with 71% of the vote.

Tuesday’s vote had a high turnout for the district, 400, compared to 270 last year.

Mayberry is leaving the district to be the superintendent for Guilderland Central School District this summer. He said he was looking for a new challenge, but will miss Keene schools “immensely.”

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Board of Education

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Current school board members Jen Kazmierczak and Molly Jacobson have terms ending this summer. Story Bellows and Lauren Ruppert both ran unopposed for the two board seats. Ruppert earned 310 votes and Bellows earned 308 votes.