GUILDERLAND — In a brief meeting on July 5, where all eight participating Guilderland School Board members voted without discussion or dissent, the board adopted a tax break for first responders, returned its leaders to office, and set its schedule and committees for the year ahead.

The board re-elected Seema Rivera as its president and Kelly Person as its vice president.

All of the board members voted in favor of a tax break for first responders.

Last year, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill, meant to help with recruitment and retention, that allows local taxing jurisdictions to offer a property tax exemption up to 10 percent for volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers whose primary residence is located in that jurisdiction.

While many local municipalities — including Albany County and the towns of Guilderland, Knox, New Scotland, and Westerlo — have already agreed to a tax break, the impact is largest for schools since their taxes are highest. Locally, the Berne-Knox-Westerlo school district agreed to a break.

But it had seemed early in the year that Guilderland may let the proposal die in committee. In January, Guilderland School Board member Judy Slack told the board that the business practices committee recommended waiting rather than moving ahead with a tax break for first responders.

In February, The Enterprise editorialized in favor of tax breaks, calling for calculations on the cost.

On May 23, Assistant Superintendent for Business Andrew Van Alstyne provided cost calculations. He said that a number of volunteers in the gallery had attended a business committee meeting, providing “very useful feedback.”

Van Alstyne went over the state law, stressing that one of the criteria for a break is a minimum service requirement of two to five years and that, if a volunteer has 20 years of service, the tax break becomes permanent; also, a surviving unmarried spouse of a recipient killed in the line of duty can receive the benefit as long as the property remains their primary residence.

Since the application deadline is March 1, the earliest the tax break could go into effect for the Guilderland district would be for the 2024-25 school year, Van Alstyne noted.

With a “very large caveat” that his calculations were projections since actual numbers are not known, Van Alstyne said about 150 firefighters might be eligible for the exemption and the total assessed value for those firefighters would be about $41.5 million, which would come out to about $75,000 in tax breaks or roughly $490 per eligible recipient.

Since the tax levy would remain the same, that $75,000 would have to be made up by other taxpayers in the district. This would come to two cents per $1,000 of property value, Van Alstyne estimated.

So, if someone has a house assessed at $230,000, the annual impact to their taxes would be an additional, roughly $4.60.

Two board members — Rebecca Butterfield and Blanca Gonzalez-Parker — immediately spoke in favor on May 23 of moving ahead with a hearing and Vice President Person, who ran the meeting in the absence of the president, Rivera, said she appreciated the firefighters coming out.

Only two people spoke at the June 13 public hearing on the proposed tax break. Councilman Jacob Crawford said the town board had passed the exemption and told the school board, “I hope you’ll support our volunteer firefighters and EMTs and pass this tax exemption.”

Michael Dempsey, a volunteer with the Guilderland Fire Department, speaking on behalf of the Town of Guilderland Fire Chiefs and Commissioners Association, said, “Recruiting and retaining new members to join the volunteer fire departments has become increasingly more difficult.”

He also said, to applause from his fellow firefighters seated in the gallery, that the exemption would be a tangible way for the board to show appreciation for the work of the volunteers.

Rivera called it a “no-brainer.”

On July 5, Scott Jill, a past chief of the Guilderland Fire Department sat, wearing his dress blues, in the front row of the near empty gallery until the board, without fanfare, passed the tax-break resolution.

Safety

Before the public part of the meeting, the board met in executive session to discuss two issues related to potential litigation and the employment history of a worker.

The board members also confidentially reviewed building level emergency response plans. The approved plans will be shared with area first responders and sent to the State Education Department.

In public session, a draft of Guilderland’s Project S.A.V.E. Plan, which the state requires the district to update and approve annually, was presented to the board. The plan is required by the state’s Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act, known as Project SAVE, which became law in 2000.

A copy of the 50-page plan is posted on the district’s website, said Superintendent Marie Wiles, and the public has 30 days to comment before the board gives its formal approval when it next meets, on Aug. 15.

“Our students will not be distracted from learning by anxiety or fear for their safety; they can enjoy socializing with classmates and adults in a climate of acceptance and warmth without fear from bullying and harassment,” says the safety plan, describing its mission.

“Expectations for behavior and a sense of responsibility will be clear,” the plan continues. “We will address the district priority to foster trust, respect and a greater sense of community among the staff, students, parents and other district residents through effective communication and understanding.”

Guilderland’s original safety plan started with a quote from  Mahatma Gandhi: “If we are to reach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.”

Finally, the board members on July 5 talked privately about the annual evaluation and contract for Wiles before approving the contract in public session. Her contract as supervisor was extended to June 30, 2027.