This spending per student is far from high, compared to some other school districts around New York state, but New York has the highest per-student spending in the country, around 90% higher than the national average. As of the start of this school year, 1,067 students were enrolled at SLCSD. With its $36 million budget proposal, Saranac Lake’s per-student spending calculates to roughly $33,739, provided there isn’t a big change in enrollment. Keep in mind that this is school taxes only, and doesn’t include other local taxes, such as village taxes, for those who live in the village of Saranac Lake. You would multiply the tax rate - $9.04 - by 300, to get your approximate tax bill of $2,712. Say you’ve got a home with an assessed value of $300,000. A homeowner can calculate their approximate tax bill with some simple math, as long as they know what their home is assessed at.

This translates to a tax rate of approximately $9.04 per $1,000 in assessed value. In the current year, the superintendent is being paid $156,503 with $30,875 in benefits, according to this year’s ASD form.)Ībout 65% of the district’s proposed budget, or $23,650,279, would be paid for by taxpayers. (Superintendent Diane Fox is the highest-paid employee, with a proposed salary of $172,525 in 2023-24 with $33,073 in benefits, according to the district’s administrator salary disclosure form. More than three-quarters of the district’s spending, $27.4 million, is earmarked for salaries and benefits. The Saranac Lake Central School District is planning to spend exactly $36 million in the coming school year, a 4.05% increase in spending from the current school year.

The Story Hunter by Lindsay A. Franklin