On Tuesday, May 21, residents across New York State will weigh in not only on local school district budgets for the 2024-25 school year, but will also vote for candidates for boards of education.
New York State’s fiscal year 2025 budget has finally been settled, and the good news for local school districts is that Governor Kathy Hochul’s plans to cut foundation aid and eliminate the “Hold Harmless” provision that prevents districts with decreasing student population from seeing funding cuts has been kicked down the road another year.
Overall, the state budget increases school aid to $35.9 billion, including $24.9 billion in foundation aid. School aid has risen by $6.5 billion in the three years since Hochul has been governor. Both the governor and legislature agree that the foundation aid formula needs to be modified, and the state has engaged a Rockefeller Institute study to examine what that might look like. In the meantime, the budget lowers the inflation factor from 3.4 percent to 2.8 percent in an effort to “right-size” funding for the 2024-25 school year. State aid runs have not been released as of press time.
For the latest information on polling times and locations, visit the official school district website.
Each school board candidate was sent the same brief questionnaire, and their responses appear in the order.
Also included are the budget highlights that will put before voters for approval on Tuesday, May 21.
Kingston City School District
(Four running for three open seats)
Anthony Fitzpatrick
Occupation: My most recent job was an independent contractor as a garden assistant over the summer. I was a dishwasher prior to that.
Prior school board experience: I have not served on the board of education before but I sit on the district equity in action committee. I regularly attend every public meeting of the full board.
What made you want to run for School Board? I felt my service would be valuable to the board and to my community. I am a father to a 4th grader at Robert Graves and a 5th grader at J. Watson Bailey. I think I’d be good at this as someone who is very logical and data driven. I hope that, regardless of the results of the election, I can inspire a younger demographic to participate in public service.
What are the most pressing issues facing the school district? I believe the most pressing issues in our district are first and foremost the safety and security of the students as well as the staff. Offsetting the recent decline in academics is a close second. Finally, it’s critical that this nation’s most consequential institution evolves alongside our society and doesn’t get stuck lagging behind it in matters such as technology or equity.
Marystephanie Corsones
Occupation: Educational Consultant/ CEO of CSEI (Collaborative Solutions for Educational Innovation)
Prior School Board experience: No prior school board experience; however I have served on the following boards: Ulster County Community College Foundation; Hudson Valley Senior Residence; YWCA of Ulster County; The Kingston Hospital and Cross-River Healthcare, Inc.; Ulster-Greene ARC; YMCA; Fare Share.
What made you want to run for School Board? I believe that public education is the great equalizer. As a professional with over 50 years of working in and with education systems, I recognize that public school districts are facing greater challenges than ever before. There is increasing student diversity and increasing student needs. School boards need to set priorities and policies that ensure a structured process to help all students reach high academic, social and cultural achievement. Achieving equity throughout the educational system requires a comprehensive effort at all levels of the district. Such efforts are characterized by a shared and demonstrated belief at every level that all students, regardless of background or experience, are capable of performing at high levels when provided with equitable resources. I believe that my commitment to public education coupled with my professional experience and my passion for public education uniquely qualify me to work collaboratively with other board members and district staff to ensure that the district has effectively implemented the necessary structures and programs to accomplish student success. Success for all students should be the foundation for every decision.
What are the most pressing issues facing the school district? The most pressing issues facing all school boards include the following:
1. Safety — in all forms
2. Resources — to ensure that the district has the resources/support needed to effectively implement (or continue to implement) programs that promote equity of opportunity for all students in a fiscally responsible manner.
3. Parent/community relationships and communication. This must continue to be a top priority for the board. Parents and guardians play a vital role in their child’s education. The board must maintain policies and cultivate practices that actively encourage their involvement. Additionally, the board needs to ensure that there are effective partnerships with community organizations that will enrich and support the students and families in the district.
Scott Denny
Occupation: I am retired from just shy of 40 years in the local automobile business, having held every position from a sales representative, where I began at Honda of Kingston on Broadway in 1982.Throughout my career, I have held every position beginning as a sales representative, to finance manager, sales manager, general sales manager, and ultimately general manager, at Honda of Kingston, ending my career after retiring from Colonial Subaru. In addition to my career in the automobile business, my wife Jana Denny and I owned our very successful business Catskill Mountain Pools and Spas LLC, prior to the recession that began in 2007, at which time we were forced to close, since luxury items had lost their popularity.
Prior school board experience: As a resident, I am currently serving on the KCSB yet not as an elected official board member, but I am seated on the audit and finance committee, as the KCSB made the decision to add two residents to that particular committee. If you were to look back at the various media coverage of the KCSB, and school board articles, you will see I have been very involved for quite a long time.
What made you want to run for School Board? Having served on the Ulster County Boys & Girls Club board of directors (Saugerties Chapter), I am passionate about our youth, as they are, and will hopefully remain in the Kingston area.
What are the most pressing issues facing the school district? The three goals, or issues that I feel very strongly about, are as follows:
1. The safety of our school children of all ages is paramount, and I believe that there needs to be further discussions with regard to our districtwide safety plan and school resource officers.
2. It is important to me, that the district maintains very rigid policies as it pertains to fiscal responsibility, while continuing to always seek ways to reduce spending, without compromising any of our existing programs, and potentially adding if needed. It would be a priority of mine to carefully examine the budget, while seeking opportunities to reduce any wasteful spending.
3. Last, but certainly far from least, I would very much like to afford grades 7 – 12, the opportunity to have rotating representatives at school board meetings, so that they may express their thoughts, needs and concerns about the direction their schools are headed, while being included in the process. Our youth, deserve a voice, when it pertains to their future and it will certainly build moral.
Herbert Lamb
Candidate did not respond before deadline.
Kingston City School District budget and propositions on the ballot
The KCSD will present a $231,562,000 spending plan with a proposed tax levy of $117,595,198, an increase of 3.26 percent over the 2023-24 budget. That increase is at the state mandated limit for the district, which means the budget will only need pass by a simple majority to succeed.
The spending plan shows an increase of nearly $12 million in expenses, including salaries of $8.1 million, $2 million of which were previously funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA); some salary increases have been offset by attrition and retirements.
Also increasing are the cost of employee benefits ($1,585,000), transportation ($1 million) and BOCES ($1,734,200). As with many school districts, salaries (42.85 percent) and benefits (27.54 percent) comprise the lion’s share of the district’s expenses in 2024-25.
In preparing their budget, KCSD district officials anticipated a nearly $1 million decrease in foundation aid than the amount prescribed by law, putting their total expected state aid increase at $6,955,500. Other revenue increases include $3,710,000 in the local tax levy, $290,000 in interest income, $192,800 in other revenue increases and $850,000 in additional fund balance allocations.
District officials have touted that their budget maintains instructional and social-emotional supports funded with federal pandemic stimulus money, which runs out this September. Among those positions being maintained are response to intervention math and reading experts, social workers, and a guidance counselor.
Other budget goals include supporting English as a new language (ENL) students with additional teachers and bilingual family workers; supporting the instructional team as the district continues leveraging instructional technology to support students with instructional coaches; supporting the district’s commitment to DEI and diversity in recruitment, retention and equity; improving districtwide safety by placing a front desk monitor in each building, and additional monitors in both middle schools; and continued support of district programming, such as I-Ready grades K-8 math assessments and curriculum, and literacy initiatives.
Voters will also determine the fate of a pair of propositions when they head to the polls on May 21.
During a school board meeting held on Wednesday, May 1, the board of education agreed to seek the establishment of a reserve fund of up to $5 million from budget fund balances and other reserves to offset the taxpayers’ portion of large capital projects over the next two years; school officials said the fund would be comprised of budgeted money that wound up not being spent and could be used for repairs not covered in other capital projects.
The second proposition will seek approval for the five-year renewal of a lease for a 28,000 square foot warehouse at 918 Ulster Avenue in the Town of Ulster. The district has used the space as its maintenance headquarters and central receiving facility for over 20 years and renews its lease every five years. The original lease was approved in 2003 for around $100,000 per year; the new lease would be $10,700 per 30-day-month, totaling roughly $130,540 per year.
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