BERNE — Monday night, the school board stepped away from its newly hatched plan to dissolve its Budget Advisory Committee after hearing from committee supporters.

In a Feb. 2 letter to the committee members, Superintendent Timothy Mundell and board President Joan Adriance had written, “In the wake of the community forum, and hearing the desire for community engagement, we have decided to suspend the Budget Advisory Committee for this year and take a different approach to the budget development.”

That approach, Mundell said, involves a budget tour with five weekly stops at venues throughout the district, starting in March, with the schedule to be posted on the Berne-Knox-Westerlo website.

Joseph Golden, who had served on both the school board and the budget committee, told the board from the lectern, “The budget’s a big deal…Every step you take is impacted by the budget.”

BKW currently has a $22.3 million budget; in the past two years, the board has made cuts so that there would be no increase in the tax levy. Golden said $11 million was from local taxes.

“You’ll never get 9,000 people to show up,” he told the board of district residents. “You represent the people that don’t show up here.”

Golden recalled an earlier era when BKW budgets had been voted down and said the committee helped to make the spending plans palatable. “We went line by line over the budget…Some superintendents liked it, some hated it,” he said. “Some school boards didn’t like it,” he said, as they “wanted to control everything.”

The committee is another way to communicate with residents, said Golden, concluding the plan to suspend it was a “bad idea — it will come back to bite you.”

Vasilios Lefkaditis, formerly a school board member who gave up the post when he was elected Knox supervisor, told the board, “Every avenue we can afford is a good avenue.” He urged keeping the committee and also proffered the Knox Town Hall as a venue for the budget tour.

Dick Umholtz, who chaired the 2015 committee, said he was shocked the board had not consulted with him on its dissolution.

He said committee members had expertise in business, government, and other fields “to help guide the process.”

“We took our responsibilities very seriously and we did a good job,” he said from the lectern.

Umholtz also said that lack of communication “results in declining school population” and asked the board, “What are you going to do about it?”

Helen Lounsbury, a retired BKW teacher and former school board member, and Golden’s sister, also supported keeping the committee. “Our budget is close, dollar-wise, to an adjoining Blue Ribbon district, Voorheesville,” she said, although she noted there is “quite a difference in enrollment”; Voorheesville is larger, since BKW’s enrollment has been declining.

Lounsbury suggested from the lectern that the community tour could be run “in tandem” with the Budget Advisory Committee.

“Your wisdom and experience would be very valuable to us,” Mundell said of committee members after explaining the tour, noting the board made a decision to suspend the committee.

“The board of three,” said Golden from the gallery. Since two of the board’s five members resigned when they were elected to town office, the district is holding an election on Feb. 23. Five candidates are running for the two seats.

Lounsbury, too, spoke from the gallery, asking why the committee should be suspended instead of just continuing along with the tour.

Board President Joan Adriance referenced feedback from a community forum last month.

“We have an administrator and school business official with a real desire to get involved…and help us reach out,” said Adriance. “We’re going to try to get more people involved.”

“I hope you get your wish,” said Golden.

“Why not both?” persisted Lounsbury.

Golden noted it was “a major change” for the board to make with just three members, suggesting a decision should be made after the elections.

“This is not a debate,” said Adriance, gesturing for Mundell to continue.

“I don’t know why we can’t do both,” said board member Lillian Sisson-Chrysler. “These people may even be able to enlighten you and Sarah,” she said to Mundell, also referencing the new business official, Sarah Blood.

Adriance said the Budget Advisory Committee has a charter with term limits that hadn’t been enforced. She also said that, for the last two years, when she was on the committee, it did not go over the budget line by line.

Ultimately, it was agreed the board would wait until its next meeting, on Feb. 29, when it will have five members, to continue the conversation.

“We’ll postpone the conversation to the next meeting,” said Adriance.

Mundell told The Enterprise on Wednesday, “The Budget Advisory Committee is a board committee. How it organized is up to the board; I follow their direction on that.”

Mundell also said of the budget process, “The bottom line is to involve a lot of voices in the process so the budget reflects the values they have for their school and the children.”

Other business

In other business, the board:

— Recognized the first-quarter high honors students with certificates and handshakes, and also recognized Adriance for earning 75 points in training from the New York State School Boards Association;

— Approved, without discussion and by unanimous vote, a series of staff changes — resignations, a leave, and new appointments;

— Adopted a policy regarding transgender students that Mundell said followed a state model;

— Heard from Mundell that there is now a satellite pantry at the secondary school with food and personal items for students in need and their families, run in conjunction with the Hilltown Community Resource Center. Mundell commended Principal Marna McMorris and said, “We’re recognizing that need as we come through winter”;

— Heard praise from school board member Russell Chauvot for Taylor Della Rocco, a BKW alumnus, who had performed as the Bulldog mascot and is now captain of the Syracuse University cheer squad. He is a senior at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry; and

— Heard from Mundell after Adriance asked, “Where are we with football?” that the school’s attorney is preparing an agreement for the BKW board and the Duanesburg board to vote on in February to buy used equipment from the booster club.