NORTH SYRACUSE -- Officials from several school districts across central New York are trying to figure out their next move after their proposed budgets were voted down.
North Syracuse, Cortland, Weedsport, and Jordan-Elbridge all had their budgets defeated.
North Syracuse Superintendent Jerry Melvin says he still sees the glass as half full because 3500 people voted, and the budget was only defeated by 52 votes.
"Almost half of the people who voted in the school district were willing to support this budget," says Melvin. "Considering the economic distress, I think that's a positive sign."
The proposed budget included a 5.2% tax rate increase and eliminated 67 positions.
Many taxpayers CNY Central spoke with say that increase was just too high.
"It's just another tax," says Mike Milliken, who lives in the North Syracuse district. "They tax you on everything, and I realize there's only a few solutions, but in this particular case, I don't think that's one of them."
However, Melvin says if that tax increase was lower, that would have meant more positions were eliminated.
Now, the district will have to decide whether to put the same budget up for a re-vote, put another budget up for a vote, or adopt a contingency budget.
Melvin says if the contingency budget is adopted, there will be no new equipment, no new student supplies, community groups couldn't use the buildings, and there would be no salary increases for non-union employees.
He says the board will meet next Monday to discuss the options. The district has to have a budget in place by June 30.
In Cortland, Superintendent Larry Spring says the community voted down a budget that included a tax rate increase of 7.9%. That's an additional $83 per year on a home assessed at $100,000.
Spring says next Tuesday, the board will meet to discuss what options it would like to pursue.
Superintendent Shaun O'Connor, from the Weedsport school district, sent out a statement, which said, "It is unfortunate that the proposed budget did not meet the expectations of the community relative to tax levy, use of reserves, or extent of cuts."
O'Connor says the district is holding a "public listening session" next Monday from 6pm-7:30pm at the Weedsport Junior-Senior High School to listen to the public and decide a next step.
