There are four open seats on the Rondout Valley Central School District Board of Education (BOE) this year and, so far, only one formal candidate has shown interest.

Incumbent board member Dawn Van Kleeck, a Kerhonkson resident and district parent, said she is seeking her third term as a member of the team at Tuesday night’s BOE public hearing. The rest of her new peers, however, will likely be chosen via a write-in slot on the ballot during the May 17 vote.

Van Kleeck said she felt that Rondout students deserve the best education possible and that taxes should be kept at a reasonable rate. She holds a degree in business, works as director of operations for a large telecommunications company, and serves on the board for the Tourette Association of Greater NY. Van Kleeck currently serves as president of the BOE.

“I’ve really enjoyed working for the community, working for students and working hard to make sure we have a good curriculum [and] a good ability to do what’s right for the students and the staff,” Van Kleeck said. “We, as a board, worked hard to support the superintendent, the administration, and teachers during COVID-19 and I would like to see that continue.”

You may remember that former board member Breanna Casey resigned from the board on March 10, followed by her peer Brian Martin on April 1 (no explanation for their departure was publicly disclosed). The cause of the other two vacancies was not readily available.

On the day of the board elections, residents will find empty slots that they can fill in themselves. Whoever receives the most votes will grab the first open seat and the remaining slots will be filled by the other highest-voted candidates, said Superintendent Joseph Morgan. If the slots are not filled by the vote, the board also has the power to appoint members themselves, he continued.

The final vote will take place at the District Office, smack in the center of the campus at 122 Kyserike Road, in Accord, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Budget Talks

The amount of state funding expected in the 2022-2023 budget was a bit higher than previously estimated by district Business official Deanne Rosinksi. The district is asking for just over $1 million more than it did last year (which was around $24.8 million), with the new total coming out to roughly $26.15 million.

Overall, the budget is significantly higher from last year: the budget totaled at approximately $66.9 million for the 2021-2022 school year and could rise to $71.4 million next year, if approved.

One of the biggest new expenses in the budget is the $3 million capital reserve fund, to pay for expected construction and renovations. Rosinksi explained that the money would be used for the roughly $15.7 million in renovations that the district expected to spend over the next five years, she explained. All of the money would not be plopped into the new account immediately after the vote, but rather over the next 10 years, she continued. However, this fund would need voter approval before it's ironed into the budget.

Other new expenses were attributed to the increased cost of health insurance (now totaling at around $1.05 million), the new social worker hired with a $65,000 salary, and a roughly $1.3 million spike in district employee salaries.

Rosinski expects the total levy to be within the two percent cap mandated by New York State. But that doesn’t mean that taxes won’t raise more than two percent. School districts can override the tax rate with 60 percent voter approval of the budget. Those with levies that are within the state limit only need a simple majority vote.

However, the Rondout BOE was very proud that the developing budget would allow the district to retain all of its programs, retain all staff members, and replace all retirees, Rosinski added.