Raider Report mid-May 2025
The annual district budget and Board of Education election vote is Tuesday, May 20, 2025, from noon - 9 p.m.
In addition to the proposed 2025-26 budget, residents will be asked to cast votes on two open board seats, new school buses, a capital improvement plan focused on critical improvements to the high and middle school's main competition field, and area library budgets.
Below you'll find information on each of these areas to ensure you can visit the polls armed with the tools to make an informed decision.
We look forward to seeing you when polls are open Tuesday, may 20th, from noon to 9 p.m. at the Mill Road Elementary School’s grades 3-5 cafeteria, located at 9 Mill Road in Red Hook. Visit the district’s voting information page to learn more.
The Red Hook Central School District is proposing a $65 million budget for the 2025-26 school year that would maintain and grow existing programs and staffing without exceeding the tax cap.
The proposed $64,998,156 2025-26 spending plan represents a 3.43% increase over this year’s approved budget and a tax levy increase of 3.98%. It supports the continued growth of important district initiatives, such as the IB and technology training programs and universal pre-K. Next year, UPK will serve every family that applied for a spot.
“Since the first day of the school year, we’ve discussed the need to be future-focused in how we adapt to meet the changing needs of students in school and beyond graduation,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Janet Warden said. “We’re pleased to propose a budget that would allow our educational programs and initiatives to continue to grow to meet those needs.”
This year, residents benefitted from a larger than expected tax base growth factor, an element in calculating a tax cap that generally increases with new property development within a school district, which resulted in an increase of less than 1% to the tax bills for many district homeowners. The district again expects the tax growth factor to functionally reduce the amount taxes increase in 2025-26 to some extent.
The proposals come as district officials on April 10 announced the 2022 capital project approved by voters is expected to be completed at least $4 million under its original $22 million budget, reducing the originally expected impact on taxpayers by roughly 18%.
Should the budget vote fail the district would operate on a $63.42 million contingency budget next year, which would likely lead to between 15 to 20 staff positions eliminated or going unfilled, mostly likely leading to reduced program offerings and larger class sizes. Most instructional equipment would also be removed from the budget and the capital improvement project would not proceed, as required by law.
If approved, Proposition 2 would:
- allow the district to acquire four school buses at little to no financial burden;
- keep the district on its regular 12-year replacement schedule of cycling its bus fleet;
- advance the district's focus on making environmentally conscious to lower its carbon footprint;
- continue our progress toward meeting New York State’s zero-emission vehicle mandates.
You may remember, last spring residents approved the purchase of the district's first two electric school buses; the final cost of those, too, were virtually free through the same two programs the district plans to utilize again. Officials from the State Education Department State Aid Office informed the district it would be eligible for reimbursement on roughly 50% of the electric vehicles’ full cost. The district also remains eligible for a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, or NYSERDA, grant for roughly $220,000 per bus for up to six buses. Between the two programs, a bus that may cost roughly $460,000 can be obtained for under $10,000.
You can watch a video of one of the electric buses in action here.
The exact percentage of reimbursement and cost of the bus is expected to fluctuate, making it impossible to give an exact estimate of how minimal the final expense will be. The district will also have to put forward the cost of the buses before being reimbursed by the state. Consequently, the ballot proposition posed to residents asks if they will support spending a maximum of $1,200,000 total, even though there will ultimately be little-to-no impact on taxes following the reimbursement.
Under a state mandate, no school district will be permitted to purchase a fuel vehicle beginning in 2027, and all districts will be required to use only non-combustion vehicles by 2035. The state believes the shift will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, decrease negative environmental impacts and reduce noise. A district analysis last year showed it would save $1,600 per year, per bus on fuel costs with electric buses.
Red Hook’s fleet encompasses 29 buses and 15 SUVs, vans and sedans, in addition to the two new electric buses. By beginning to satisfy the state mandate early and gradually cycling out those combustion vehicles with new electric purchases, the district is seeking to capitalize on available assistance while limiting the fiscal burden that a larger purchase closer to the state deadline would create.
The main athletic field between the high and middle schools was closed in March due to longstanding safety concerns that have worsened significantly despite continuous maintenance.
Proposition 3 on the ballot is a capital improvement project that would, among other things, address the field's immediate needs in such a way that the work would receive state aid on nearly two-thirds of the cost. And, in response to concerns raised by voters with previous proposals, the field's surface would remain natural grass.
The district is proposing a $6.085 million project, for which taxpayers would be responsible for less than $2.2 million after state aid.
If approved, Proposition 3 would:
- replace the field with natural grass;
- install improved drainage systems;
- replace the track surrounding the field;
- install LED field lighting;
- repair the chain-link fence surrounding the field;
- renovate some high school bathrooms;
- install a kiln room at LAMS.
The district has sought to fix issues of safety and accessibility at its main field for several years. The field is overly compact, uneven and prone to flooding, the product of severe overuse. Three times since 2022, the board has unsuccessfully put forth propositions to voters in which the field would be renovated with an artificial turf surface. Environmental concerns tied to the materials used to create the field were a common reason voters cited for why they did not support the plans. Voters in October approved the renovation of two other field spaces at the high and middle schools utilizing natural grass.
“Throughout this process we have been listening to residents’ feedback while building proposals that would provide our students with safe outdoor facilities to aid in their physical and emotional well-being,” Dr. Janet Warden, superintendent of schools, said. “A grass renovation satisfies those concerns we’ve heard while allowing for the field repairs we’ve needed.”
The inaugural Mill Road Gallery Walk will be held Tuesday, May 20, and feature the artwork and talents of Mill Road Elementary School students. The event, scheduled for 4-6 p.m. at the school located at 9 Mill Road, will take place prior to the annual Red Hook Faculty Association Ice Cream Social, from 6-8 p.m. The polls will be open inside the Mill Road School’s 3-5 cafeteria from noon to 9 p.m.
The Mill Road Gallery Walk will feature artwork from every student grades pre-K through 5, with a special hallway exhibit featuring district art show selections; an art activity station in the grades 3-5 gymnasium, and showcases of the band and chorus.
The Ice Cream social includes a make-your-own-sundae bar for $1 per bowl. It will be in the grades pre-K-2 courtyard outside the school or, in the event of rain, in the pre-K-2 cafeteria.
Artwork will be displayed in the center of the school -- the hallway connecting the pre-K-2 and 3-5 offices, and a small group of students selected by Mill Road's music teachers will be singing and playing their instruments in that space. High school art students, meanwhile, will assist with the art activity in the gym. Refreshments, funded by the PTA, will include cookies, pretzels, apples and water.
The Gallery Walk is one of several ways in which the district’s art students are being celebrated before the year’s complete. Previously, the LAMS Earth Day Print Show on April 25 featured the artwork of middle school students in an outdoor installation, and the Senior Art Show May 2 provided a platform in the high school’s Performing Arts Center Atrium for around a dozen Raiders to show off their collections.
Coming up, on May 28 a new mural for the high school’s Healing Garden will be unveiled in an 11 a.m. presentation in the school’s lobby. The District Art Show will debut May 30 from 4-6 p.m. May in the PAC Atrium.
For the second year in a row, Red Hook Schools put on a Community Showcase Budget Expo on May 8th. The Budget Expo welcomed district families and residents to Red Hook High School to learn more about what is offered to students and explore our various programs.
Students and staff operated dozens of tables in the gymnasium where visitors could discuss programs ranging from the RoboRaiders, food service and International Baccalaureate, to volcano project displays. Several community organizations also attended, such as the Red Hook Police Department. Outside, residents had the opportunity to ride RHCSD electric buses and meet with our transportation director to discuss how the technology has been sparking excitement for students. Afterward, refreshments were served in the atrium of the Performing Arts Center and the annual Board of Education budget hearing was held in the PAC.
