2021-2022 School Budget
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Click here to download the May 2021 Budget Newsletter. |
Polling Locations
Voters who live NORTH of Route 481 will vote at Cicero Elementary School (5979 Route 31) in Cicero
Voters who live SOUTH of Route 481 will vote at the Jerome F. Melvin Administrative Office Building (535 W. Taft Rd.) in North Syracuse
Recovering From COVID - NSCSD Carefully Targets Funds in Budget Proposal
 Over the course of the 2020-2021 school year, school nurses have been working to ensure the safety of all NSCSD students and staff and to prevent the spread of illness. Nursing and health office staff have worked tirelessly to care for sick students and staff, assist with contact tracing, administer COVID testing within buildings and for student athletes, and serve as a resource for students staff and families. The NSCSD 2021-2022 budget proposal includes the addition of a District Nurse Supervisor and plans to continue COVID testing and begin in-District vaccination. |
On Wednesday, April 14, 2021, the North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education adopted a $180,258,175 million budget proposal for the 2021-2022 school year. The proposed budget will be voted on by District residents on Tuesday, May 18. There will also be a budget public hearing on Tuesday, May 4 at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in-person at the Jerome F. Melvin Administrative Office Building (5355 West Taft Rd., N. Syracuse) and will be broadcast live on the District's YouTube Channel. This year’s budget proposal carefully targets funding toward the academic and social-emotional impacts of COVID. For the past year, schools have been working through the many challenges associated with the pandemic. In the April 12 presentation to the Board of Education, Superintendent of Schools Daniel Bowles discussed additions to the budget in order to address the social-emotional needs of students. “Many of our students have struggled academically over the past year, but the impact of not being in-person full-time has also caused emotional distress,” Bowles said. “Our budget proposal prioritizes helping students and staff recover in all areas.” To address the social-emotional impact, the budget proposal includes the addition of two social workers at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, a school counselor at North Syracuse Junior High School, staffing enhancements throughout the District and several targeted trainings and initiatives. The District’s budget proposal also prioritizes support for student learning in response to COVID and the reduction of in-person learning, ongoing management of the disease through established health and safety protocols and continued support for technological best practices. |
| Dr., Christopher Leahey, the District’s Associate Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, elaborated about the ongoing management of COVID and initiatives in that area. “Throughout this pandemic, our staff have done a tremendous job managing COVID. They have kept us going by wiping down surfaces and taking temperatures, administering COVID tests and feeding our kids,” Dr. Leahey said. “The proposal includes the addition of a District Nurse Supervisor to lead our nursing team and ensure access to a high quality in-school health care system.” While the budget does propose additions in some areas, it also includes a net reduction of 7 elementary teachers due to decreased enrollment, which will be offset by retirements. Other items impacting the budget include savings from a new prescription drug plan for retirees, increased maintenance and operations staffing and additional costs associated with equipment to support learning environments. Click here to view a detailed budget presentation. |
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April 12, 2021 - Final Budget Presentation to the Board of Education
Board of Education Candidates
The Board of Education is the official policy-making body of the North Syracuse Central School District. The Board is composed of nine members who are elected by District voters to three-year terms. Members receive no salary for serving on the Board. The terms of three Board members expire each June 30. Board members may seek re-election at the annual budget vote.
There will be no minimum threshold number of signatures required for individuals to be placed on the ballot, except that they must meet all other requirements, including applicable residency and age.
This year there are six candidates running for three vacant seats due to the expiration of terms and an additional vacant seat due to the passing of Board of Education Member Erin McDonald. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be elected to three (3) year terms (from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024) and the candidate receiving the 4th highest number of votes will be elected to fill the unexpired term (from May 19, 2021 through June 30, 2023). Candidates will be listed on the ballot alphabetically.
Board of Education Candidate Profiles
Each Board of Education candidate is responsible for providing information for his or her own biography. The District does not endorse one candidate over another and reserves the right to edit biographies for space purposes. Candidate biographies are listed alphabetically below.
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1. Paul Farfaglia is seeking reelection for a third term on the North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education. He has served as President of the Board since 2019. Mr. Farfaglia has lived in the North Syracuse Central School District for 32 years, currently residing in the District in Liverpool with his wife Rosemary. Their daughter, Courtney, is a 2006 graduate of Cicero-North Syracuse High School and 2010 graduate of Niagara University. Mr. Farfaglia is a retired teacher from the Jordan-Elbridge Central School District. He graduated from Canastota High School and earned degrees from Le Moyne College (BA in Biology with an education minor) and SUNY Oswego (Master of Biology). Mr. Farfaglia is a proud donor and active member of North Syracuse Dollars for Scholars. He currently serves on the North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education Executive, Policy, Audit and Legislative Committees. |
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2. Michelle Henry is seeking her first term on the North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education. Michelle has lived in the North Syracuse Central School District for the past 18 years, currently residing in North Syracuse with her husband, Daniel, and their two children, Christina and Daniel. Christina is a student at Cicero-North Syracuse High School and Daniel is a student at North Syracuse Junior High School. Mrs. Henry is a Registered Nurse Case Manager working for Fidelis Insurance, which is owned by the parent company, Centene. She is a graduate of Liverpool High School and attended Onondaga Community College and Morrisville College taking science courses in nursing. She graduated from Crouse Hospital College of Nursing with an associate’s degree in nursing and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Grand Canyon University. |
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3. Beth Kramer, Ed.D., is seeking her first term on the North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education. She has lived in the North Syracuse Central School District for the past 21 years, currently residing in Cicero with her two children, Raychel and Stephen, both graduates of Cicero-North Syracuse High School. Ms. Kramer is pre-deceased by her husband, Stephen J. Kramer. Dr. Kramer is an elementary school principal at Walberta Park in the Westhill Central School District. She graduated from New Hartford High School and went on to earn degrees from Le Moyne College (BA in English Education) and Syracuse University (MS in Special Education) and St. John Fisher (Education Doctorate in Executive Leadership). She also earned a Certificate of Advanced Study in Administration from Syracuse University. Dr. Kramer is a former softball coach and religious education teacher at Sacred Heart Church of Cicero. |
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4. Xavier Moody-Wusik is seeking his first term on the North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education. Xavier has been a resident of the North Syracuse Central School District for the past 11 years and is a graduate of Cicero-North Syracuse High School. After graduation from C-NS in 2018, he went to St. Bonaventure to study adolescent psychology. Following his freshman year, he transferred to Syracuse University, where he is currently enrolled studying social studies education. Xavier currently volunteers as an assistant coach with the St. Rose Varsity Basketball team. |
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5. Nicole Planty is seeking her first term on the North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education. She is a life-long resident of the North Syracuse Central School District, currently residing in Cicero with her husband, Josh, and their two children, Kane and Olivia. Kane is a student at Lakeshore Road Elementary School and Olivia is a student at Gillette Road Middle School. Nicole currently works as a cosmetology instructor with high school juniors and seniors at East Syracuse Minoa High School and is the owner of a salon in North Syracuse. She graduated from Cicero-North Syracuse High School and attended SUNY Oswego for teacher preparation and the University of Phoenix for educational leadership. Nicole is the varsity cheerleading coach in the East Syracuse Minoa Central School District. |
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6. Mark Thorne is seeking reelection for his second term on the North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education. Mr. Thorne has lived in the North Syracuse Central School District for the past 20 years, currently residing in Cicero with his wife Sandra, a teacher in the District, and their daughter Lillian, a junior at Cicero-North Syracuse High School. The Thornes have two older daughters, Lauren and Madeline, both graduates of Cicero-North Syracuse High School. Lauren is currently a senior at Canisius College and Madeline is a freshman at St. Bonaventure University. Mr. Thorne is a web developer with Bloomberg Industry Group where he designs, develops and maintains internal and external websites. Mr. Thorne graduated from Jamesville-DeWitt High School and holds a BA degree in computer science from SUNY Potsdam. He currently serves on the North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education Executive and Policy Committees. |
Budget Public Hearing - May 4, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.
The following documents for the public hearing are available by clicking the links below:
- Dear Resident letter
- Public Hearing agenda
- Three-Part Budget
- Real Property Tax Exemption
- Property Tax Report Card
- School Report Card
- Administrative Compensation
- Line Item Budget
Budget Presentations - Copies of the 2021-2022 budget presentations to the North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education are listed below by the date they were given to the board.
April 12, 2021 Final Budget Presentation to Board of Education
April 5, 2021 Budget Update Presentation to Board of Education
March 15, 2021 Budget Update Presentation to Board of Education
March 1, 2021 Budget Update Presentation to Board of Education
2021-2022 Initial Budget Presentation to Board of Education at February 22, 2021 Meeting
2021-2022 Budget Calendar - Approved October 5, 2020
At the February 22 Board of Education meeting, the District had the opportunity to present its initial budget. As you might imagine, trying to formulate a budget in the midst of such uncertainty is difficult. In order to continue providing quality instruction during the pandemic and beyond, it is imperative that school districts receive sufficient aid from the state and federal government.
Earlier this week, we received an advocacy alert from the New York State School Boards Association, asking us to share the following actionable items with our community. Please help us advocate for adequate public education funding by taking a few minutes to complete the following links:
