By MATT LINDSEY

POTSDAM – Residents in the Potsdam Central School district approved a budget for the 2016-17 school year by a vote of 421 to 81 that will see the tax levy increased 2.28 percent or $228,886.

The proposed budget is $31,654,441, which is an increase of 6.1 percent or $1,821,026. The amount to be raised in taxes is $12,776,517.

Potsdam Central School Superintendent Joanna Chambers said she thought the turnout was “fair” and that was she was “pleased with the vote.”

She said the 84 percent approval was “a little better margin than usual” and she was “thankful for the support from the community.”

When the recession happened in 2008, schools were hit hard as the state dealt with a $10 billion deficit. The state created a Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA), which essentially closed the state’s budget deficit by cutting school aid.

Last year the state restored part of the GEA and this year the remainder has been restored.

The elimination of the GEA will result in $427,667 in additional revenue. The funding and approval of the budget will allow PCS to restore several positions that were cut prior to the recession.

Those positions include increasing part time to full time jobs this fall for a high school English teacher, music teacher, art teacher and physical educations teacher.

The current art teacher will return to full time.

The physical education and music teaching positions were shared positions through a BOCES program, but now those two teachers will become Potsdam Central School employees this fall.

“I am happy with both of their work,” she said.

The high school English teaching position will be open, with the current teacher in the pool of candidates, Chambers said.

The district also has plans to hire a school counselor.

Elementary school counselor Susan Pike will move into the new position created, home school counselor, and a new hire will assume her position for the 2016-17 school year.

Plans to hire two special education teachers were moved up due to a small pool of qualified applicants.

The Board of Education approved the hiring of two special education teachers at the last school board meeting, May 10, Chambers said.

“We knew other districts were looking to hire special education teachers and there are not a lot of candidates for special education positions,” Chambers said about the decision to hire special education teachers prior to the budget vote.

Special education teachers had worked in Potsdam Central through a BOCES program. Students from other districts would attend PCS, but the teachers were not Potsdam Central employees.

She said there are four Potsdam Central students who share similar needs and are close and age, so it made financial sense to hire their own teacher rather than go through the BOCES program.

The hiring of two teachers will save the district $150,000, Chambers said.

Other programs and costs budgeted include SAT prep classes for high school students, an increase for professional development, increase in technology purchases, school bus routing software and bowling fees for high school physical education students.

PCS will be able to offer high school students a huge savings on an SAT prep class through a COSER (Cooperative Service) program with BOCES, Chambers said. The actual testing is done through Clarkson.

We want all students to have an opportunity and before the price tag was pretty hefty and through this program we have brought the cost down quite a bit, she said.

Money will also be spent for teachers to grow professionally through workshops and other learning opportunities.

Part of that is being able to pay for teachers for work in the summer and fund substitute teacher pay while permanent teachers work during the school year.

“This area was tight, but was of interest to staff,” Chambers said.

PCS will look to slowly build up their technology through the Smarts Schools Bond Act, which will provide $1.3 million for technology improvements at Potsdam, she said.

Chambers said the funding is a one-time deal and that the school wants to be prepared to keep technology updated in the future. So a committee, led by A.A. Kingston Middle School Principal Mark Bennett, is working to have money in place when that time comes.

Chambers says the school is looking to invest in bus routing software that will create the most efficient routes and help find savings.

“It’s an investment for the long-run,” she said.

Voters also approved the purchase of two new buses by a vote of 429 in favor to 74 opposing.

Chambers did not know the cost of the buses, but said that at least one bus that is being replaced would be used as a trade-in.

She said one of the planned bus purchases is a smaller bus, which will be more cost effective at transporting smaller groups, such as the golf team.

Voters elected three people as board members who were running unopposed. Incumbents Rachel Wallace and Ralph Fuller received 409 and 399 votes respectively.

Wallace begins her second term and Fuller is nearing 20 years on the school board, which is the longest in recent memory, Chambers said.

Chambers said votes were cast for newcomer Deborah Shipp, who replaces Judith Hinman, who decided not to run this year.

Since assessment rolls are not completed by towns until after the budget vote, an exact figure of how property taxes will be impacted is not known.

Based on last year’s assessed values, the tax on a $70,000 home would see a $34 increase with the Basic STAR exemption and $37 without the Basic STAR exemption. This data is based on last year’s assessed values and is subject to change.