Broadalbin-Perth budget newsletters arrive late
due to routing error at post office
Because of a post-office routing error, about 1,000-1,500 households within the Broadalbin-Perth Central School District received a newsletter with details about the district’s proposed school budget on Thursday and Friday – two to three days after the budget vote on Tuesday, May 20.
“The district mailed its four-page newsletter to all residents and property owners on Thursday, May 8, which was the first day we could legally mail it,” said Broadalbin-Perth Superintendent Stephen Tomlinson. “That allowed 12 days before the vote for the post office to deliver the 4,300 copies we mailed. Unfortunately, a routing error delayed the delivery to households in the 12010 zip code.”
Tomlinson is working with the post office to ensure that future mailings reach residents in a timely fashion.
“We understand how upsetting this postal error is to our residents,” he said, “and we know they count on us to provide clear, accurate information so they can make informed decisions at the polls. We, too, were frustrated to find out the newsletters we mailed on May 8 did not reach almost a third of our residents until after the May 20 vote. We are working with the post office to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
The third Tuesday in May is the annual statewide vote on all school budgets. The state requires school districts to mail budget information to all residents and taxpayers after the district’s public hearing on the proposed budget and at least six days before the vote. Broadalbin-Perth’s public hearing was May 7, and thus May 8 was the first day the district could mail the information.
Broadalbin-Perth residents voted on a proposed $27.4 million spending plan for 2008-09. Although the poll count shows the budget was defeated by 10 votes, with a vote of 482-492, there are still 38 affidavit ballots that have not been counted. Tomlinson said it could be several weeks before a ruling has been made on whether those affidavit votes will be allowed. Until then, the district will not know whether the budget has been approved or defeated. If the budget is defeated, Tomlinson said the Broadalbin-Perth Board of Education may adopt a contingency budget that would be $52,000 less than the proposed budget.
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