SSCSD voters approve budget, appoint three candidates to BOE

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Springs City School District residents voted Tuesday to approve the district’s budget for the 2023-24 school year, and voted to pass the district’s bus bond proposition.

The proposed budget totals $142,718,530, and was approved by an unofficial vote of 4,213 to 1,204. The bus bond proposition was approved by an unofficial vote of 3,971 to 1,009, according to the district. The Board of Education voted unanimously to approve the results of the budget vote and election  at its meeting on Wednesday.

The budget features a tax levy change of 2.75%, below the local tax cap of 2.77%.

The bus bond proposition authorizes the district to spend an estimated $1,525,000 for the purchase of six 66-passenger school buses, four 30-passenger buses, and a 25-passenger bus with wheelchair lift. 40% of the purchase would be reimbursed by aid from New York State.

Residents also voted to appoint three candidates to the district’s Board of Education to serve three-year terms.

Beth Fogarty Braxton (3,679 votes), Tony Krackeler (3,581 votes), and Anjeanette Emeka (3,412 votes) each were elected to serve on the SSCSD Board of Education.

Krackeler is the current president of the Board, which he has served on since 2020. The CEO of Krackeler Scientific, he has three children in the district.

Emeka was elected for her third term on the Board, having served since 2017. She works as Director of Academic Review at SUNY Empire. Emeka has been elected president of the Board twice, and vice president once. 

Braxton was elected to her first term on the Board. She works as Associate Professor of Counseling and Division Chair at SUNY Adirondack. Braxton is a native of Saratoga Springs, and her mother taught in the district for over 30 years. She has three children in the district.