By Carol P. Bartold
Apr. 8, 2015: The New York State Department of Education has projected that state aid to the Bronxville Free Union School District will be almost $2.4 million for 2015-2016. Coming just in time to finalize the budget before its adoption at the April 21 meeting, the amount of funding is approximately three percent greater than the amount for the 2014-2015 school year.
The Bronxville Board of Education has formulated and discussed a draft $46.4 million budget for 2015-2016, an increase of 0.71 percent over the current year's budget. For that draft, the district estimated that $41.8 in revenue will be funded by property taxes and reserves and projected approximately $2.2 million in state aid.
Non-tax revenues other than state aid are generated by regular education tuition students, special education tuition students, health services provided by the district and billable to private schools in Bronxville, a portion of taxes on properties that straddle the village lines, interest, and insurance. For 2015-2016, those revenues are projected to be approximately $2.4 million.
With salaries and benefits amounting to almost 80 percent of the budget, some attention has turned to high pay for administrators in the region as a prime factor in rising property taxes. The Bronxville district has consistently met the state-mandated two percent tax levy cap since its inception.
For 2015-2016, the board of education will decide whether to apply $850,000 in reserves to the budget and increase the tax levy by 1.1 percent or to apply $735,000 of reserves and increase the tax levy by 1.39 percent.
The New York State Education Department reported that in the Bronxville district, nine administrators earn a salary higher than the cap of $166,672 set by the state legislature for superintendents at the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES). BOCES superintendents administer programs in career and technical education, special education, adult education, and professional development for teachers.
Adoption of the 2015-2016 district budget at the April 21 meeting will allow the budget to be presented to voters for the May 19 annual vote and election.
Pictured here: The façade of The Bronxville School.
Photo by N. Bower
Bronxville is a quaint village (one square mile) located just 16 miles north of midtown Manhattan (roughly 30 minutes on the train) and has a population of approximately 6,500. It is known as a premier community with an excellent public school (K-12) and easy access to Manhattan. Bronxville offers many amenities including an attractive business district, a hospital (Lawrence Hospital), public paddle and tennis courts, fine dining at local restaurants, two private country clubs and a community library.
While the earliest settlers of Bronxville date back to the first half of the 18th century, the history of the modern suburb of Bronxville began in 1890 when William Van Duzer Lawrence purchased a farm and commissioned the architect, William A. Bates, to design a planned community of houses for well-known artists and professionals that became a thriving art colony. This community, now called Lawrence Park, is listed on the National register of Historic Places and many of the homes still have artists’ studios. A neighborhood association within Lawrence Park called “The Hilltop Association” keeps this heritage alive with art shows and other events for neighbors.
Bronxville offers many charming neighborhoods as well as a variety of living options for residents including single family homes, town houses, cooperatives and condominiums. One of the chief benefits of living in “the village” is that your children can attend the Bronxville School.
The Bronxville postal zone (10708, known as “Bronxville PO”) includes the village of Bronxville as well as the Chester Heights section of Eastchester, parts of Tuckahoe and the Lawrence Park West, Cedar Knolls, Armour Villa and Longvale sections of Yonkers. Many of these areas have their own distinct character. For instance, the Armour Villa section has many historic homes and even has its own newsletter called “The Villa Voice” which reports on neighborhood news.
Link to Village of Bronxville One Square Mile Monthly Newsletter
Village of Bronxville Administrative Offices
337-6500
Open 9:00am - 4pm excluding holidays and weekends
Bronxville Police Department
337-0500
Open 24 hours
Bronxville Parking Violations
337-2024
Open 9:00am - 4pm excluding holidays and weekends
Bronxville Fire Deparment
793-6400