More than 3,000 voters came to the polls this past Tuesday to cast their ballot for the revised "B" budget presented by the Rondout Valley Central Board of Education. The result was a 1,679 to 1,377 vote of approval — representing a full 300 more votes cast than in the voting for the initial proposal on May 18.

The now official budget for the 2010-11 school year of approximately $60.1 million includes a proposed tax levy reduction of 0.03 percent; the reduction from the "A" budget's suggested 2.81 percent tax increase may well have made the difference in achieving the vote of confidence. The new budget will also represent a 3.8 percent reduction in staffing, to match the 4.3 percent drop in enrollment district-wide.  > MORE