An open letter to the taxpayers, board of education and administration of the Saranac Lake Central School District:

In an April 12, 2024 front page article in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, readers were informed by the board of education (BOE) and superintendent of the Saranac Lake Central School District (SLCSD) of seriously declining enrollment in the district, along with issues within the larger community demonstrative of a lack of support for families, which they highlight as contributing to these issues facing the SLCSD, and many school districts across the North Country — facts that I will certainly do not dispute. I concur with their assessment that these issues will require further study, and concentrated efforts by all members of the larger community to address in ways that benefit the students and families in our district, as well as the mindfulness required of the taxpayers within the district, and their shouldering of the financial burdens for those efforts.

I write to express my shock and outrage, as a taxpayer, at two of the five proposals the SLCSD is putting forth in their proposed budget for the 2024-2025 school year. If you are not aware, as a taxpayer, Proposition 3 in the proposed SLCSD budget addresses “Artificial Turf, Lights, Scoreboard,” while Proposition 4, which will only be considered “if Proposition 3 is approved,” will address “bleachers and press box.”

Proposition 3 is identified “at a total estimated cost not to exceed $4,000,000.” The SLCSD BOE will “obtain the necessary funds by using $2,820,000 from the Capital Improvement Reserve approved by the District’s voters on 05/19/2015, $397,563 from available District funds and, to the extent necessary, the levy upon taxable property of the School District to be collected in annual installments in the years and in the amounts as the Board of Education shall determine and anticipate of such tax shall the School District be authorized to issue up to $782,237 of obligations of the School District and levy a tax to pay the interest there on when due.”

If SLCSD taxpayers approve Proposition 3, Proposition 4 will add a “Bleacher Project” “at a total estimated cost not to exceed $1,250,000, and to obtain the necessary funds by levy of a tax upon the taxable property of the School District to be collected in annual installments in the years and in the amounts as the Board of Education shall determine and in anticipation of such tax the School District be authorized to issue up to $1,250.000 of obligations of the School District and levy a tax to pay the interest there on when due.”

(The information quoted in the previous paragraphs comes directly from the public notice published by the SLCSD in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise April 5, 12, 15 and 19, 2024).

I need to establish here that I have been a taxpayer in the SLCSD since 1988, and the parent of a 2009 SLCSD alumni, who was a multi-sport athlete. I am not against athletics, and am supportive of any program, be it academic, technical, athletic, artistic, technological or musical that will enhance the learning experiences of our students.

I am, however, deeply concerned by such an extravagant expenditure, which will only impact a small number of the total students in the SLCSD, following the detailed outlining by the BOE and Superintendent of the SLCSD, of the challenges facing the district as we move forward.

I would respectfully request the SLCSD BOE to please provide the following information to taxpayers:

A. What is the total current SLCSD enrollment, pre-K through 12, for the 2023-24 school year?

B. What is the number of student athletes, by sport, for the 2023-24 school year? How many males? How many females?

C. Which (sports) are played on the field that would be improved by Proposition 3?

D. How will the overlap of the current athletic field proposed for improvement in Proposition 3, if improved with turf, be addressed on the current baseball field, which is immediately adjacent to it?

E. What are the “Capital Improvement Reserve funds, approved by the District voters on 05/19/2015,” intended for? Are there limitations regarding what they may be utilized for by the district?

F. Would it not be better to utilize the $2,820,000 identified in Proposition 3 to prepare our district buildings to better serve the educational needs of all our current and future students, rather than a small, select group of students, in a very narrow, and limited manner?

G. The “$397,563 in available district funds” identified in the Proposition 3 funding sources — is there a limitation, or specific language targeting how these funds may be expended? Could a better use for those funds not be found that would better address the needs of all, or a majority of SLCSD students, rather than a select few?

It is the responsibility of the BOE, administration and taxpayers of this school district to work together, and ensure the provision of the best possible education of the students of the district, in the most responsible and informed manner possible. In my humble opinion, Proposition 3 and Proposition 4 of the proposed 2024-25 school budget for the SLCSD do not fulfill these responsibilities to all the students of our district, and I encourage voters to consider carefully their support of these two propositions, particularly in light of the concerns highlighted by the BOE and superintendent.

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Suzanne Miller lives in Saranac Lake.