A voter casts her ballot for the revote for the Northville Central School budget, which took place on Tuesday, June 17, at the high school gymnasium.

Voters check in before placing their ballots for the revote for the Northville Central School budget, which took place on Tuesday, at the high school gymnasium.

The revote for the Northville Central School budget took place on Tuesday, June 17, at the high school gymnasium.

A voter casts her ballot for the revote for the Northville Central School budget, which took place on Tuesday, June 17, at the high school gymnasium.

A voter casts his ballot for the revote for the Northville Central School budget, which took place on Tuesday, June 17, at the high school gymnasium.

The revote for the Northville Central School budget took place on Tuesday, June 17, at the high school gymnasium.

The revote for the Northville Central School budget took place on Tuesday, June 17, at the high school gymnasium.

A voter checks in for the revote for the Northville Central School budget, which took place on Tuesday, June 17, at the high school gymnasium.

Northville school district residents approved a budget for the 2025-26 school year Tuesday, after rejecting the district’s inital proposal last month.

The Northville 2025-2026 school budget has finally passed Tuesday evening after an initial failed vote on May 20.

The budget passed with 296 votes in favor and 226 against (56.7% to 43.3%), exceeding the simple majority requirement. Its passing means the district will avoid going into contingency, which would have necessitated cutting funding for sports program and not replacing a science teacher position.

This year’s initial $15,483,025 budget, which would have increased spending by 5.24%, had a proposed tax levy increase of 6.46% — above the district’s state-mandated cap.

Only 41.6% of voters supported the first proposal this year with 345 votes against and 246 in favor, well below the 60% threshold for passage when exceeding the state-mandated tax cap. Last year, when the district faced the same circumstances, 59.7% of voters approved the plan.

The cuts to the initial budget, after the May 20 referendum failed, were made in order to ensure that the tax levy increase came in under the state-mandated tax cap of 2.9%, officials said. Of the cuts made, general support was cut $70,000, pupil transportation was cut $10,000, employee benefits were cut by $61,690 and instructional costs were gutted by $149,295, totaling $290,985 in cuts.

Superintendent Sarah Chaucey said Tuesday ahead of the revote that she knows the community supports the district, and that she anticipated a “positive outcome.”

“I think people care about the school,” she said. “I think they care deeply about this school. I’m going to be running a series of community workshops. I’ve already put together a video invitation of sorts to see what will happen, but I think they’re going to want to support the kids. They’re going to want to support their school. This is a wonderful place.”

The workshops are intended to show community members the ins and outs of Northville’s budget process. Chauncey said while dates haven’t been locked down yet, she feels that they’ll be beneficial going forward. Teachers and administrators are also slated to attend.

“What it will be is just to bring the community together to make sure they have accurate information and they learn what we’re doing here to [be] fiscally sound, the kinds of collaborations we’re looking to do and are already doing,” she said. “Many people don’t know what goes on behind the scenes in a school, so we want them to see what’s happening at your school.”

Chauncey is also excited to showcase the grounds which have been improved. While it hasn’t been voted on by the board yet, Chauncey hopes to encourage community members to use the field when sports team’s aren’t in season. She said she hopes the field will host pickleball games, football games at night, and even said little kids could ride their tricycles along the track.

“We had a real problem with our fields, and now our soccer field is in great shape,” she said. “We finally got it to the point where it’s green. It’s got rid of the chinch bugs and all.”

Jeff Stark, a local resident and member of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, addresses the Florida Planning Board during a public hearing on the Amazon distribution center proposed on Route 5S.

Trade union members are broadly backing plans by Amazon to build a 3.2-million-square-foot distribution center on Route 5S, while urging developers to use local union workers during construction.

“Not often do we come with a transformative project like this. We’ve waited for years for something that would put Montgomery County, town of Florida, Amsterdam on the map and spur hope for more development,” said Jeff Stark, a local resident and member of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.

Over a dozen area trade union members attended a public hearing on the proposal last week in a show of support for the plans under review by the Florida Planning Board.

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