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The Lake Placid
Central School District’s Board of Education will have some new
faces in the coming months.
At Tuesday’s meeting,
the board unanimously appointed Jill Cardinale Segger [cardinal-seeger]
to replace Bob Miller. Miller resigned in June after being elected
to the North Elba Town Board.
At the same meeting,
the board accepted the resignation of board member Bernie Roy who
was elected in May of 2007. Roy’s term expires in June 2010.
Cardinale Segger, who
has owned The Pines Inn of Lake Placid for the past four years, said
she had been approached by board members to fill the open seat and
plans to run next summer when the term expires.
“I am fairly new to
the community though I vacationed here for years before I moved
here,” she said. “We’ll see what the year brings but I think it will
be an interesting and exciting thing to be involved in.”
With two children
attending school in the district – a 16-year-old daughter and
seven-year-old son – Cardinale Segger says she often volunteers in
the schools.
School Superintendent
Jim Donnelly said the board intends to appoint another member to
fill the rest of Roy’s term. “The board will need to work on an
appointment,” he said.
In other action
Tuesday, the board added nearly $370,000 to the $12 million tax levy
approved by voters in May.
Donnelly said there
are numerous property owners challenging their assessments and that
a $240,000 reserve fund has been set up to cushion the district if
the town loses in court.
In addition, the
district created a nearly $129,000 fund for employee benefits which
have been on the rise. Both actions came in the form of resolutions
passed on Tuesday.
“What the board is
doing is being fiscally responsible,” Donnelly said.
Even with the
increase to the levy, the tax rate is still set to decrease by 29
cents to $5.90 per $1,000 of assessed value. That’s because about
$260 million has been added to the school district’s tax rolls.
Rising costs in
heating fuel, transportation and electricity are also a perennial
challenge, Donnelly said, noting that the district’s fund balance
was only a half-percent last year.
State regulators
recommend school districts keep four percent in reserve, he said.
-Jacob Resneck, 8-21-08 |