At BKW, victors are Sikule and O’Connor

BERNE — The district’s voters on Tuesday supported Berne-Knox-Westerlo’s $20.3 million budget for 2008-09.  This marks the third consecutive year BKW’s budget has passed on the first vote. 

About 59 percent, or 432 voters, gave the go-ahead for next year’s spending plan, and 301, or 41 percent, were opposed.  Next year, the tax levy — the amount to be raised from property taxes — will increase 1.95 percent.  This represents the lowest tax-levy increase since the 1998-99 school year, when BKW’s budget totaled $12.4 million.

In a three-way race for two seats on the school board, incumbent Maureen Sikule, the board’s president, was the top vote-getter, and newcomer Sean O’Connor followed closely behind.  They will begin serving three-year terms this summer.  Edward Ackroyd, running for a seat he lost last year in a four-way race, came in a distant third. 

Sikule, who works for the state’s Thruway Authority, received 510, or 39 percent, of the votes.  O’Connor, who lives on the East Berne-Westerlo border and is a partner of Hudson Financial, LLC, based in Hudson (Columbia County), received 457, or 35 percent, of the votes.  Ackroyd, who lives on the Berne-Knox border and is a semi-retired business owner, received 336, or 26 percent, of the votes.

On Tuesday, the district’s voters also approved a bus proposition, 451 to 243, that totals $352,000.  To purchase three 65-passenger buses and two Chevrolet Suburbans, BKW will use $189,000 from its capital reserve fund for transportation and borrow no more than $163,000, said Timothy Holmes, BKW’s business administrator. 

BKW leaders react

Following Tuesday’s results, candidates and administrators agreed that the faltering economy was important in constructing the school’s budget for next year.

And candidates reacted to the community’s response. 

O’Connor said, “At the meet-the-candidates night, I made a concerted effort to say this shouldn’t be a popularity contest but merely look at those who are putting themselves up for service and pick somebody who reflects what you’re trying to get done on the school board.

“I’m really pleased,” he said.  “I’m happy to be allowed to serve is the bottom line.  Looking forward to a good term and certainly look forward to working with the other people on the board.  I think the board composition is very good at the moment and certainly like the attitudes of [Superintendent] Steve Schrade and Tim Holmes and current administration so I look forward to doing my best.” 

Sikule, who lives in Westerlo, won a second three-year term on Tuesday.  She and O’Connor were asked whether they attribute their wins to anything they emphasized during their campaigns. 

“I think that the community makes a decision as far as how effective they think you were for three years,” Sikule said.  “I believe the people look favorably on the job that I’ve done so far.”

O’Connor said, “I think everyone is certainly feeling the effects of the economy and that seems to be one of the most pressing subjects, whether it’s a regional school board election, a regional election for higher political, or even the presidential election at this point.

“I think everyone recognizes that front and center right now,” he said. 

Until three years ago, BKW had difficulty passing its budgets.

Asked what she thinks this year’s budget being approved means for the district, Sikule said, “I think our district, like every other district, is going to be looking at some tough economic times, and I think that Tim [Holmes] has shown that he’s trying to restrain growth, and I think that we’re going to have to continue to look at that as the economy continues to decline.”

Holmes was hired in January.  Throughout the budget process, he cited rising fuel and energy costs and the state of the economy. 

Asked how he felt about the voters’ response to the budget in his first year at BKW, Holmes said, “I’m very happy with the turnout, and, obviously, with passing the budget…It’s always a good feeling when the public votes ‘yes.’”

Asked what he will look for in designing future budgets, Holmes said, “The main thing is to keep expenses to a minimum — keep the tax levy as low as possible.  That’s key.  Especially with a bad economy.  We’ve got to keep that low, and that’s what we did….”

O’Connor said, “I think the board itself, at this point, and the administration, did a great job of putting together a budget that had the best interests of the school population in mind as well as the residents of the community.  The levy only having to go up 1.95 percent, I think, is a huge positive in the eyes of the community.” 

He said of the six-percent increase in spending, “It didn’t translate into a hefty tax levy for the citizens of the community so I think that was looked on as a positive.” 

BKW’s superintendent, Steven Schrade, said, “It’s a combination of the support from the voters, which we appreciate very much, and the ability of our board and administration to construct a budget which carries a low tax increase…It makes all the difference in the world if you can deliver a low increase in the tax levy.” 

In its budget, BKW eliminated six-tenths of a teaching position and added a six-tenths position; the school did not add any new programs.  Three members of the community — Ackroyd, O’Connor, and Berne Councilman Joseph Golden — worked with members of the school board and the school’s administration to design next year’s budget. 

Asked whether the economy was considered and played a part throughout, Schrade said, “Very much so.  And that was reflected in every meeting that we had with the budget advisory committee.

“As I said at one of the meetings,” he said, “I believe the budget advisory committee served its purpose to send a message to keep the taxes under control.”