Warwick voters approve $75 million school budget

Dawn Chester joins school board, By Terence McGahan Warwick — By a vote of 1,543 to 1,276, voters in the Warwick Valley School District approved a $75 million budget that is 4.55 percent more than current spending. “I appreciate all the work everyone has done and I’m pleased that it passed,” Schools Superintendent Dr. Frank Greenhall said Tuesday night after the returns were finalized. Had the budget failed, it would have resulted in an elimination of $446,410 in spending mostly on equipment. Voters also opted to make one change to the make up of the school board. Dawn Chester received the most votes of any of the candidates vying for the three available seat with 1,421. Current board members Debra Holton-Smith, with 1,306 votes, and Board President Michael Meinhardt, with 1,087 votes, retained their seats. They were followed by former board member Jerry Sommer (998 votes), Ed Karlewicz (903 votes) and Paul Caskey (872 votes). By a tally of 1,508 to 1,241, voters also gave school administrators the go ahead to invest in new transport for students. Greenhall advised that although the price of the new buses is $602,000, the net cost to the district will be only $265,000 when the price of trade-ins and state aid is factored.