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Schools

Voice from the Vote: Lakeland Central School District

After months of debate, the district's proposed budget of $157.2 million is put to a public vote at Van Cortlandlandtville Elementary School.

Despite the rain, Cortlandt and Lakeland residents came out to on Tuesday to vote on Lakeland Central School District's budget for 2011-12. Voters said they're concerned about the budget and the increasing taxes, and for some enough was enough. 

The budget of $157,235,514, which proposes the cut of , would raise taxes 2.57 percent, if approved.

Michael Cherchia, one of the school board members up for re-election on Tuesday, grabbed himself an umbrella and greeted voters outside the school gym, urging them to pass the budget. The vote brought out both parents and non-parents all with their own take on the proposal.

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  • Cathleen Bahan, independent marketing consultant, Mohegan Lake, no children currently enrolled in Lakeland School District: “I'm very concerned about the budget. I do understand that it's a real challenge for the school district, but I feel having lived here for a while and having experienced the various cost increases, that they can consolidate and there are ways they can save money. And everybody is hurting. I'm a big believer in education, but I'm a believer in efficient education.”
  • Charles Newman, insurance agent, Yorktown, no children currently enrolled in Lakeland School District (2 graduates): “I always vote for the budget because I think that a good educational system supports not only our kids but property values. And that if we continue to support the budget, our kids will continue to get a great education. Both my girls went through Lakeland schools; I went through Lakeland schools, too.”
  • Ruth Leyton, appeals officer, Yorktown, 1 child currently enrolled in Lakeland School District: “It's unacceptable. We are overloaded; the taxes we are paying are horrible. And we have a lot of single parents like myself alone, trying to pay over $12,000 in taxes, and having three jobs. Enough is enough. I think they have to cut the spending somewhere. People are moving to the area with a lot of children and we, the people that are here, cannot keep supporting them. It's just too much.”
  • Gary Reing, attorney, Mohegan Lake, no children currently enrolled in Lakeland School District (2 graduates): “I'm in favor. The costs go up but the education district is excellent, even though my kids are already long gone. It is what it is. Considering what's going on in terms of inflation, which the government tells us isn't there but we know is there, it's within bounds.”
  • Ingrid Heinz-Adams, finance leader, Cortlandt Manor, 2 children currently enrolled in Lakeland School District: “You hate to see any kind of tax increases, but you have to do what you need to do for the schools so the students can get a good education.”
  • (Requested to withhold name and profession), Yorktown, 3 children currently enrolled in Lakeland School District:It's more for the kids than for anybody else at this point. Some things in the budget I just don't agree with, because they cut a million dollars by cutting the alternative school. OK, what's going to happen next year? Where are they going to find the budget? Where are they going to find the gap? And this thing with the pensions and benefits, that's always the problem. Got to like what Governor Cuomo's proposing, for the new tier and so on like that. I think they have to go to a 401K-type style system. Half the budget, if you look at the increase in the budget, pension, I think, rose by 50 percent. Benefits rose by 30. And they covered that by cutting the alternative school. I think that stinks, but you got to get the budget passed or else the kids don't benefit, that's my opinion.”
  • Chris Stock, Mahopac, no children currently enrolled in district: “Definitely in favor of it, so my wife can keep her job. So the people that she works with who are good teachers can keep their jobs. I know that a lot of jobs of colleagues of hers are kind of riding on this budget passing. I'm for it if she's for it.”
  • JoAnne Petti, works from home, Cortlandt Manor, no children currently enrolled in district: “I actually don't have any kids, they graduated from school. I came and did my duty, and I voted yes. I think the school should be upkept and they should give what the teachers and staff need to keep the schools running.”

The polls will be open until 9 p.m. Tuesday night.

Check back for more updates. 

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