Port Jervis School District Proposes $96 Million Budget With Flat Tax Levy

Port Jervis City School District Superintendent John Bell said his administration proposed a $96 million budget for the coming school year with zero increases in tax levy. The recommended tax levy covers about one-third of the total budget and stands just above $29 million, a figure that has remained flat for the past three school years. “We are happy that we can take another budget to the voters with no tax increases for them,” Mr. Bell told The Epoch Times on March 15. “Not every district can pull that off.” The total proposed budget increases by $5 million, or nearly 6 percent, compared to the current year, largely due to new debt payments for the ongoing middle school capital project....