The Vestal Board of Education will have to find a way to close a budget gap of nearly $2 million. Superintendent Mark LaRoach said the school district is getting closer to a specific strategy to fix the budget difference, which he said is driven by a combination of shrinking state aid and increasing costs for state mandates. At this week’s meeting, the board examined how the district is currently spending its money, and from their findings they will decide where to make cuts in spending. The amount Vestal residents will have to pay for their next tax levy still has to be decided, but officials said the maximum allowable tax levy increase stands at 3.5 percent. The next Vestal school board meeting is set for March 12th.
