MEET THE BAUMANN SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS
SCHOOLS
Katonah-Lewisboro School District
To the Editor:
I've lived in the Katonah-Lewisboro area for the past seven years and am concerned, as usual, about the upcoming school budget vote. When my husband and I first moved to the area, we were so relieved to stop writng exorbitant checks to private schools in the city, that we didn't question the local public school taxes. Then my children began school at Lewisboro Elementary.
i Within a year, I was skeptical of every penny the school spent; not because I was attending school board or PTA meetings, but because I was reading newspaper articles and mailers from groups like Citizens for Prudent School Planning, and listening to tax gripes from plenty of uninformed and anxious Lewisboro residents. I was angry! I began attending the school board budget meetings so I could give that board and administration a piece of my mind! But a funny thing happened. After reviewing the budget both online and at the meetings, participating in budget breakout sessions, and speaking to board members by phone, I realized that our school budget was in line with the other Westchester County districts.
Unfortunately, our community seems to vote "Yes" for the school budget proposal only when the resale value of our property is threatened. The New York Times ran an article last spring citing Katonah-Lewisboro and Valhalla as the only two deadbeat Westchester school districts that
refused to pass a budget. "How embarrassing, and what will that do to our property values?" everyone asked. "Who will want to buy a home in an area of Westchester where the community doesn't support the local schools?" Not surprisingly, the budget passed the second time around.
So what's my point? Don't let us be shamed into voting "yes" for the proposed school budget. Go online to klschools.org and look over the budget. Phone your school principal and ask questions, or for that matter, call the board or e-mail Dr. Lichtenfeld with your questions. As members of this community, we are both needed and wanted for our input and expertise in many areas. You can influence decisions being made in the school system, but you must get involved.
One more thing to consider; we have very few area businesses to ease the tax burden, so home owners pay the majority of our school taxes. Unlike other districts such as Mount Kisco or Scarsdale, we don't have a Target paying a large portion of our tax bill. But do you really want to live in a school district that includes something like a Target? I sure don't, but I also know :1 cannot live inthese bucolic surroundings within an hour's commute of New York City and expect it to be cheap. I guess I realize I can't have it both ways, so I am voting "yes" on May 18.