SOUTH OTSELIC – The Otselic Valley Board of Education adopted the 2008/2009 budget proposal Monday night, hoping the district will be pleased with the lowest tax levy increase they have been able to offer in the last four years.

The board proposed a budget of $8,837,381 for 2008/2009. That’s an increase over the 2007/2008 budget of $8,178,842; however due to a positive state aid situation, the tax levy increase is the lowest it’s been in years at 3.6 percent.

According to Superintendent Lawrence Thomas, some of the big reasons for the increases were the increasing costs of fuel, other energy costs and benefits. Thomas said the school also saw an increase in the number of students utilizing the career and technical education programs at the Delaware Chenango Madison Otsego BOCES, which also increased costs.

Last year, the Otselic Valley budget was voted down, and the school had to operate on a contingency budget. Although the total amount of the contingency budget was exactly the same as the amount of the proposed budget, some funds could not be allocated in the ways the district initially had planned. In response, this year, the school is trying to make up for that by budgeting funds for additional technology and equipment. “We’re trying to fully recover from the contingency situation that we were in last year,” Thomas explained.