Haldane, Garrison ask for max tax-levy cap increases

Voters in Philipstown will be asked May 19 to approve school budgets for 2026-27 that include tax-levy increases of 5.53 percent for Haldane and 2.27 percent for Garrison. Both increases are the maximum allowed for each district next year under the state's complex cap formula.

Both boards approved their budgets unanimously. Haldane will hold a public hearing on Tuesday (May 5) and Garrison on Wednesday.

Haldane numbers

Haldane's proposed $32 million budget includes a 5.53 percent tax-levy increase that is nearly double last year's (2.8 percent). The larger increase was driven by borrowing costs for a $28.4 million capital plan approved by voters in 2024.

The tax-cap formula allows districts to collect higher taxes for debt payments on voter-approved capital improvements. The capital plan includes a 17,300-square-foot addition to the high school, changes to campus traffic flow, new student support offices and security upgrades.

Haldane's proposal translates to a $740 annual property tax increase for a home valued at $1 million, according to the district.

Among the line items that increased over 2025-26 were out-of-district placements for special education students (by $175,000), athletics (by $56,000) and redesign of the district's Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) courses (by $10,000).

District voters will also decide whether to approve spending $275,000 to replace the school's two tennis courts. The expenditure is considered "tax-neutral" because the funds would be taken from a reserve established in 2018 for facilities improvements. The Haldane girls' tennis team and their parents have lobbied for the upgrade.

The district also has tax-neutral ballot measures to purchase a bus for $175,000 and to establish a fund to pay for zero-emission buses that are required under state law beginning in 2027.

Garrison numbers

Garrison's $15.6 million budget will translate to a $182 annual property tax increase on a Philipstown home valued at $1 million, according to district officials. To balance the budget, the district said it would withdraw $1.78 million of its $5.4 million in savings.

Its budget includes $500,000 for a forest classroom with a composting toilet at the 181-acre Garrison School forest, land donated in 1956 for environmental education by the Osborne, Gunther and Sloane families. The district and Hudson Highlands Land Trust have discussed placing an easement on the property to prevent any future development.

The Garrison budget also includes additional funding for playground equipment ($100,000), classroom equipment and materials ($40,000), a new gym scoreboard ($7,500) and new soccer goals ($5,000).

Voters will also be asked to approve contracts that allow the K-8 district to send its graduating students to Haldane and O'Neill in Highland Falls for high school.

Lakeland numbers

The Lakeland Central School District, which includes Continental Village in Philipstown, has proposed a $202 million budget for 2026-27. Voters will also be asked to approve $2.13 million for school buses and vehicles.

The budget includes 2.62 percent more spending than in 2025-26 and includes a 2.2 percent tax-levy increase, the maximum allowed under the state tax-cap formula for the district.

There are also five candidates for three open seats on the nine-member school board: incumbents Christopher Eustace and Amanda Franco and newcomers James Hedberg, Keith Baisley and Patricia Martucci-Pace. Donald Pinkowsky did not run for re-election. Board members serve three-year terms.

The vote will take place on May 19 at Van Cortlandtville Elementary School in Mohegan Lake from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.