Annual meeting and election for Cassadaga Valley Central School District.

Legal Notices 

CASSADAGA VALLEY CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT SINCLAIRVILLE, NEW YORK

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING AND ELECTION

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual Meeting and Election (the "District Vote") of the Cassadaga Valley Central School District, Chautauqua County, New York (the "District") will be held on Tuesday, May 19, 2026 from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the gymnasium of the District's Middle/High School building, located at 5935 Route 60, Sinclairville, New York 14782, for the purpose of [a] electing one member of the Board of Education of the District (the "Board"), [b] voting on the District's budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, [c] voting on a proposition to purchase buses and similar vehicles for use in the transportation program of the District, [d] voting on a proposition for the creation of a capital improvement reserve fund, and [e] transacting such other business as may be authorized by law.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that a public hearing for the qualified voters of the District on the 2026- 2027 budget shall be held on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room of the District's Middle/High School building, located at 5935 Route 60, Sinclairville, New York 14782, for the presentation of the District's proposed 2026-2027 Budget.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the proposed budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, exclusive of public monies, and the tax exemption report will be available for review by any resident of the District, upon request, during the fourteen (14) days immediately preceding the District Vote (excluding weekends and holidays) as well as the day of the District Vote, at each of the public schoolhouses of the District and in the District office between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. For purposes of clarity, the inspection timeframe shall run from April 30, 2026 to May 19, 2026.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that an election for members of the Board shall be held to fill one (1) at- large position on the Board resulting from the expiration, on June 30, 2026, of the term of Marcus Clark. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes will be elected to a five (5) year term commencing July 1, 2026 and ending on June 30, 2031.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the qualified voters of the District shall be entitled to vote at said annual meeting and election. A qualified voter is one who is (1) a citizen of the United States of America, (2) eighteen (18) years of age or older, and (3) a resident within the District for a period of thirty (30) days next preceding the annual vote and election. The District may require all persons offering to vote at the annual meeting and election to provide one form of proof of residency pursuant to Education Law § 2018-c. Such form may include a driver's license, a non-driver identification card, a utility bill, or a voter registration card. Upon offer of proof of residency, the District may also require all persons offering to vote to provide their signature, printed name and address.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that all candidates for the office of Member of the Board shall be nominated by petition. Each petition shall be directed to the District Clerk, shall be signed by at least 25 qualified voters of the District or two percent of voters who voted in the preceding District Vote, whichever is greater, shall state the residence of each signer, shall state the name and residence of the candidate and shall be filed in the office of the District Clerk, 5935 Route 60, Sinclairville, New York between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., not later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 20, 2026. Petitions may be obtained from the District Clerk in the Central Administration Office at the Middle/High School building during regular business hours Monday through Friday (except holidays). TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that voting at the District Vote shall be on the following propositions, and on such other propositions as may be authorized by law and the rules of the Board:

PROPOSITION NO. 1- 2026-2027 BUDGET

Shall the following resolution be approved and adopted?

RESOLVED, that the budget for the Cassadaga Valley Central School District for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027, as presented by the Board of Education, is hereby approved and adopted, and the required funds therefore are hereby appropriated and the necessary real property taxes required shall be raised by a tax on the taxable property in the District to be levied and collected as required by law.

PROPOSITION NO. 2 - PURCHASE OF BUSES AND SIMILAR VEHICLES

Shall the following resolutions be adopted?

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education of the Cassadaga Valley Central School District (the "District"), is hereby authorized to purchase school buses and similar vehicles (and related equipment) for use in the transportation program of the District, at an estimated aggregate maximum cost of $1,010,206, and to expend therefor, including amounts for preliminary costs incidental to such purchases; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the total authorized sum hereunder shall be funded directly from monies already available in the District's Transportation Reserve Fund, 2019, with the result being that the purchase of these vehicles shall not require borrowing by the District and shall have no effect on the District's tax rate for the 2026-2027 school year.

PROPOSITION NO. 3 - ESTABLISHMENT OF A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT RESERVE FUND

Shall the following resolution be adopted?

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education (the "Board") of the Cassadaga Valley Central School District, Chautauqua County, New York (the "District") is hereby authorized to establish a capital improvement reserve fund pursuant to Section 3651 of the Education Law of the State of New York (the "Fund"); that the Fund shall be known as the "Capital Improvement Reserve Fund, 2026" of the District; that the Fund shall be established for the purpose of financing, in whole or in part, the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, expansion, renovation, alteration and improvement of buildings, facilities, sites and real property by the District, or the District's share of the cost of any capital improvement project undertaken by a Board of Cooperative Educational Services ("BOCES") of which the District is (or may become) a component district, including, in all cases, the acquisition of necessary furnishings, equipment, machinery and apparatus; that the ultimate amount of such Fund shall be not greater than $8,000,000 (plus interest earned thereon); that the probable term of such Fund shall be not longer than ten (10) years; and that the permissible sources from which the Board is authorized to appropriate monies to such Fund from time to time shall be (A) amounts applied thereto from budgetary appropriations of the District; (B) unappropriated fund balance of the District as directed by the Board; (C) State aid received as reimbursement for expenditures by the District in connection with District capital improvements (whether or not such improvements were financed in whole or in part from the Fund); (D) the proceeds from the sale of unneeded real or personal property owned by the District, if permitted by law and if so directed by the Board; (E) one or more other reserve funds of the District; and/or (F) such other sources as the Board or the voters of the District may direct from time to time, all as may be permitted by law.

PROPOSITION NO. 4 - AUTHORIZATION OF THE LOCAL LIBRARY FUNDING REQUEST

Shall the following resolutions be adopted?

RESOLVED, that pursuant to Education Law, Section 259, the Board of Education of the Cassadaga Valley Central School District (the "District") is authorized to levy and collect an annual tax, year after year, separate and apart from the annual District budget, in the amount of $139,340 USD, for the purpose of funding the operating budgets of the Mary E. Seymour Memorial Library and the Sinclairville Free Library. $66,340 of the funds raised under this resolution shall be paid to the Mary E. Seymour Memorial Library for the maintenance and support of that library and $73,000 of the funds raised under this resolution shall be paid to the Sinclairville Free Library for the support and maintenance of that library. These appropriated amounts shall be the annual appropriation until thereafter modified by a future vote of the electors of the District.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the optical scan voting system provided by the Chautauqua County Board of Elections will be used to record the vote on the election of the members of the Board, on the budget, the bus purchase and financing proposition and any other matters as may be lawfully presented during the meeting.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that applications for absentee and early mail ballots may be obtained at the office of the District Clerk at the Middle/High School building at 5935 Route 60, Sinclairville, New York 14782 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. Compl