On May 18, Cohoes City School District voters approved (345 to 90) a $43.6 million budget for the 2021-22 school year. The spending plan carries a $230,819, or 0.5%, decrease over the current year. The estimated increase to the tax rate, used to determine individual tax bills, is less than 1%. District leaders estimate that taxes on a home with a market value of $150,000 will increase by about $26 annually, before factoring in the STAR rebate.
Under the approved budget, the AIM Academy at Cohoes High School will be reinstated, along with the following full-time positions: a secondary school counselor, a districtwide music teacher, and a middle school reading intervention teacher. It will also provide for additional special education and/or academic intervention support at all three elementary schools through reassigning existing resources.
Voters also elected two members to the Board of Education. Richard Jackson will serve his second term and Renee Snyder will serve her first. Their three-year terms begin July 1.