By Krystle S. Morey
School district voters rejected two of three incumbents seeking new terms on the Granville Board of Education Tuesday while approving a $26.3 million budget for the coming school year.
Audrey Hicks, the current board president, is the sole incumbent who will remain on the Granville Board of Education.
Hicks, who received 324 votes, was a very close second to challenger Edward Vladyka, who received 326 votes. Challenger Dale Bucciero, with 282 votes, won the third open seat on the board.
“I was shocked that I was the top vote-getter,” Vladyka said.
Vladyka said he thinks voters favored him because of his campaign message: the school needs to be the centerpiece of our community.
“We want to get kids more involved and more engaged. I think that’s why people voted that way,” Vladyka said. “That’s how we get our town to grow again. We need to focus on providing a great education for our kids and make it a showpiece. That’s the first thing people are going to look at.”
Vladyka, a principal owner at Green Stone Slate in Poultney, grew up in Granville and attended Granville schools.
“This is where I grew up,” he said. “This is what I know. If I was going to invest in a community, it would be this one.”
Vladyka said the current board has done a wonderful job making the district economically solvent. Now, he said, the focus must turn to its attitude and bringing everyone together.
“We need to start with a coalition of nine, where everyone goes into a room and discusses positive conversation,” he said. “That’s when you create something that’s 100 percent for the kids, the future of our community.”
“As I have said before, any three of the five that ran would have been excellent candidates,” Hicks said. “I am looking forward to working with the two new board members.”
Hicks will remain board president through the end of June. In July, the board will decide at its reorganization meeting whether to reappoint her.
Incumbents Eric Scribner and Nekia Torres fell short with 273 votes and 259 votes, respectively. Scribner has been a board member for nine years. Torres, who was appointed to fill a vacant seat created by the resignation of former board member Kevin Ely, has served on the board for four years.
Vladyka and Bucciero will join the nine-member board along with Hicks, Jo-Lynne Bartholomew, Greg Bourn, Molly Celani, John McDermott, Suzanne McEachron and Carrie O’Brien-Ambrosi.
Voters approved the $26.3 million budget by a vote of 423 to 69.
The $26,264,865 budget is 1.5 percent lower than the current one.
While the tax levy – $4,076,119 – is projected to stay flat, the budget proposes an appropriation of $290,000 from the district’s fund balance. This compares with $561,971 used during the current school year.
“I am pleased to see that the budget and both propositions passed,” Hicks said.
Granville will receive $17,245,976 – 66 percent of budgeted revenues – in state aid for the 2016-17 school year.
Superintendent
Included in Tuesday’s budget vote was a 3 percent raise for school superintendent Mark Bessen, whose salary will increase from $144,300 to $148,628.
The board approved this motion 5-4 at its regular scheduled board meeting last week. That vote also extended Bessen’s contract by one year, until June 30, 2018.
Bessen, who has served as the superintendent for almost eight years, said the extension allows him to do a number of things, including continuing to work with the district’s professional staff to satisfy state standards, working with teachers on Annual Professional Performance Reviews (APPR), and securing grants for district projects.
Busses and fund appropriations
A proposition to allow the district to purchase three buses was passed, 387 to 89.
District business manager Cathy Somich said the district will spend $272,849 on two large, 65-passenger buses and one small, 28-passenger bus.
The larger buses will replace two that are more than 10 years old, with high mileage, said Somich. The third bus will be used for specialized transportation needs for students attending programs outside the district.
Another proposition authorized the transfer of $500,000 from the unassigned fund balance to a capital reserve fund – “Construction Capital Reserve.” That vote was 394 to 84.
This restricted reserve fund will be used for the purposes of financing general improvements, construction and renovations to the district’s buildings and grounds. Bessen says the money will be put aside to act as a “shock absorber” to protect tax payers from having to spend more money when those projects arise.
Voter turnout
Secretary to the superintendent and district dlerk Connie Resetar said 489 people voted Tuesday, along with 38 absentee ballots. Last year nearly 800 voters turned out, she said.