Ballston Spa Voters Approve $104M Budget, Pass Propositions

BALLSTON SPA — Ballston Spa Central School District residents voted Tuesday to approve the district’s budget for the 2023-24 school year, and also voted to approve two propositions.

The proposed budget is $104,232,811, and was approved by an unofficial vote of 941 in favor to 348 against. The school vehicle replacement proposition (Proposition II) passed by an unofficial vote of 970 in favor to 316 against, and the Ballston Spa Public Library proposition (Proposition III) passed by an unofficial vote of 1,043 in favor to 245 against, according to results made available by the district.

The 2023-24 budget contains a 5.7% increase in expenditures from 2022-23, and a tax levy of $58,016,479, a 3.1% increase from 2022-23.

The school vehicle replacement proposition (Proposition II) will allow the district to spend up to $965,000 to purchase and replace school buses and vehicles. The Ballston Spa Public Library proposition (Proposition III) will allow the district to collect and contribute $62,102 to the public library for expenses of operation.

District residents also elected three candidates to three available seats on the BSCSD Board of Education on Tuesday. Matt Dreher (929 votes), Katie Whittemore (893 votes), and Julia Routbort Baskin (826 votes) each were elected to the BSCSD Board of Education.

Each candidate will serve a three-year term. 

Whittemore was re-elected to the board for a second term, having first been elected in 2020. She has twice been elected vice president of the board. Whittemore has two children in the district, and has worked as a mathematics teacher at Shenendehowa High School since 2006.

Baskin was elected for her first full term, having been appointed to the board in September 2022 following the resignation of Wayne Evans Jr. She works as Associate Dean of Student Affairs for Health and Wellness at Skidmore College, and has two children who attended the district. She has lived in Ballston Spa for 19 years. 

Dreher was re-elected for his second term on the board, having first been elected in 2020. He is a graduate of Ballston Spa, and has two children who attended the district. Dreher works as a Senior Caseworker for Adult Protective Services at the Saratoga County Department of Social Services, and is a board member at the Christian Childhood Center at St. Paul’s.