VOORHEESVILLE — Voters here passed two reserve funds by a roughly two-to-one margin on Tuesday.

Voters approved a capital reserve fund for land acquisition, with 175 voting in favor of it and 99 voting against it, and a repair reserve fund, with 193 voting for it and 84 against it, according to Sarita Winchell, the Voorheesville Central School District’s assistant superintendent for business.

About 275 people showed up to cast votes, she said, adding that 350 people voted the last time the district asked residents to create a capital reserve in 1998.

Although the turnout was a little low, Winchell said, “It was a varied group.”

The reserve fund for land acquisition is intended for a new site for the district’s bus garage; it will have a 20-year life and will be funded by the unappropriated fund balance, which is money from the previous year’s budget that wasn’t used.  It will begin with a $25,000 deposit, according to the district.

The district can legally retain only 4 percent of its budget, Superintendent Dr. Teresa Snyder said, but these are legal reserves for the remainder.

The second proposition, for a repair reserve, would provide money for “funding the most expensive repairs to the facilities… It is no different than a homeowner saving up for a large repair,” according to a bulletin the district is sending to residents. 

The district has a $200,000 surplus that would fully fund the reserve, according to the district.

“People understood the common sense of it,” Winchell said of the outcome.  “We were very pleased with the numbers,” she concluded.