Owego-Apalachin to Hold Public Budget Hearings

Earlier this month, the Owego Apalachin Board of Education approved its proposed budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. The budget will be a 3.1 percent increase over the current year. Sixty percent of those increased expenditures are accounted for by increases in special education costs and debt service for the district’s ongoing capital projects, both of which are offset by corresponding increases in state aid. The tax levy, under the proposed budget, will increase by 3.72 percent. The average increase in the OA school property tax levy has been just 0.93 percent over the past six years. The district will only have to use a small amount of its reserves to balance the budget according to Dr. Bill Russell, the OA superintendent. The proposed budget does not include cuts to staff or programs, which have been extensive in recent years. The district will hold two public hearings on the proposed budget. Monday, May 4 at 7:30 at Apalachin Elementary School, and Wednesday, May 6, at Owego Free Academy at 7:30.