To the Editor:

On Tuesday, May 15, Guilderland Central School District residents will head to the polls to vote on a proposed $100,925,515 budget for the 2018-19 school year. The proposed budget represents an increase in spending of $2,441,405 (or 2.48 percent) over the current year’s budget.

If approved by voters, it would result in a 2.22-percent tax levy increase in the coming year — below the district’s maximum allowable tax-levy limit as calculated under the state’s “tax cap” formula. Due to projected assessment growth within the district, tax rates are estimated to increase by 1.97 percent for residents of the school district.

Voters will also elect four members to the board of education and decide on a bus and equipment proposition.

The proposed spending plan maintains all current programming across the district, adds positions to maintain class-size guidelines at all levels, increases the number of co-taught courses and expands support services for students’ social and emotional well-being.

Additionally, the proposed budget would create a licensed school-based mental-health clinic to serve children in need enrolled in Guilderland schools and their families. The clinic, created in partnership with Capital Region BOCES [Board of Cooperative Educational Services] and Parsons Child and Family Center/Northern Rivers, is proposed to be located at Farnsworth Middle School.

Before preparing the proposed budget, the district conducted a survey asking the community to weigh in on school spending priorities. More than 1,300 district residents, students, parents, and employees responded to the survey. Next year’s spending plan was developed with the goal of reflecting the priorities of our community and respecting the taxpayers who support our work.

Please read our budget newsletter, available on the district website and being delivered to residents’ homes, or visit our website, www.guilderlandschools.org, for more details about what is included in our 2018-19 spending plan.

In addition to the district’s budget, voters will also decide on a $1,117,700 bus and equipment proposition. If it is approved by voters, the district would purchase eight large buses, one wheelchair-accessible bus, one transportation minivan, and one large track mower to be used for district maintenance. Approximately 50 percent of the purchase price of the buses would be returned to the district in the form of future state aid, reducing the cost to local taxpayers by $532,600.

I encourage all district residents to review the budget resources on the district website — www.guilderlandschools.org. Please feel free to call me at 518-456-6200, ext. 3102, or email me at with any questions about the proposed spending plan.

Most importantly I urge all eligible voters to head to the polls on May 15 to vote on the budget, bus proposition, and for four members of the board of education.

After voting, please also take a moment to complete our exit survey. Your opinion is important to us. Participation is voluntary and anonymous, and the exit poll provides district leaders with valuable feedback about the budget process.

Thank you to all of our community members who participated in the budget development process this year. Don’t forget to vote!

Dr. Marie Wiles

Superintendent of Schools

Guilderland Central School District