What's Next For Brockport After School Budget Defeat?

BROCKPORT, N.Y. -- It's business as usual at the Brockport Central School District, at least for the students.

"My focus is really to look forward from May 18 on and make decisions that will continue to be in the best interest of our students, faculty and staff," Lesli Myers, Superintendent of Brockport Central School District said.

This follows voters defeating the $78.9 million proposed school budget. Myers said property taxes would have gone down, so it's hard to pinpoint why voters checked no.

Myers has no choice but to look ahead. She has a few options. Myers and other district leaders can put the same or a modified budget up to another vote, or they can directly adopt a contingency budget.

"If we had to put it at a lower amount, or if we had to go to a contingency we would have to look at cutting programs, services, etc.," Myers explained.

This has left parents concerned and also at a loss.

"I was feeling a little defeated having three children in the school district and being a child who had two parents that retired from the school district," Christina Dubois, of Brockport said.

It's no cause for celebration for the very people who asked voters to reject the budget.

"It's a bittersweet victory," Allen Hansel, Brockport Central UPSEU Support Staff said. "But, in the end we want a contract but we need to have the district have a budget too."

Hansel is a matienence mechanic for the school district. He's also the union leader of the 331 members that make up the Brockport Central UPSEU Support Staff.

"We have an issue where we haven't had the starting wage increase since 2010," Hansel said.

Continuing concessions from healthcare, concerns with inequity of benefits and no contracts for nearly a year due to an impasse with negotiations are a few other issues.

"I think they (voters) saw we had a legitimate complaint and I think they came out and voted in our favor," Hansel said.

Hansel hopes the district's defeat, will help them get a victory in mediations, which begin at the end of the month.

The school board will discuss their options at the next meeting on June 7. If they decide to put the budget to a vote again, that will take place June 21.