LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — Lacking access to state aid figures, which are not available yet, Sullivan West Central School District is relying on projections for both revenue and expenses to develop its 2017-18 budget, which will be subject to public referendum on May 16.

Superintendent Dr. Nancy Hackett held the first work session on February 16, focusing on the currently proposed $17,560,280 instructional services budget.

The administrative and capital components of the budget will be discussed at the March 16 board of education meeting.

“This is the time of the year that we start our budget process. The key to this is: none of these numbers are real,” she said.

Hackett reported that she had met with New York State Sen. John J. Bonacic and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther to discuss how Sullivan West Central School is the highest-performing school in Sullivan County yet receives the lowest amount of aid.

She stressed to the legislators that Sullivan West needs financial support to sustain its success, and it’s not fair or realistic to expect local taxpayers to shoulder that burden.

This year, Sullivan West posted a negative tax cap of -2.7%. The state has limited the tax levy increase to 1.26% next year.

In addition to the budget vote on May 16, three school board seats currently held by Mary Scheutzow, Kathleen Meckle and Trevor Peachey will be up for election. Interested candidates must file their petitions by 5 p.m. on April 17.

The board of education acted again to amend its school calendar to provide additional snow days. Students will now be in session on June 23. If additional days are needed to make up for weather closures, next to go on the list is April 17, with April 10 as further back-up.

“After tonight, we have two snow days to last us through spring break, which starts on April 7,” Dr. Hackett said.

Board member Lucas Arzilli reported that the facilities committee is exploring the installation of an approximately 3,000-gallon water tank in the basement of the Sullivan West Elementary School to mitigate the water-flow problems increasingly experienced in the Village of Jeffersonville.

The school is the first property affected by water shut-downs or pressure loss due to its location at the highest point of the village. Lately, Arzilli said that there have been issues with discoloration of the water that are of concern to the district as well.

If a storage tank is used, Arzilli said that the water would need to be treated and regulated to health department standards.