Half Hollow Hills votes on $215.9M budget

The Half Hollow Hills board of education voted Monday night to present a $215.9 million budget to voters next month.

The proposed 2011-2012 budget represents a 3.89 percent increase over the previous year's budget, and includes money for elementary summer school and professional development, items that had been cut in previous drafts of the budget.

Higher retirement and health insurance costs drove the majority of the increases in the new budget proposal, the district said.

Fourteen elementary teachers will be laid off due to declining enrollment, and teachers and administrative staff agreed to a pay freeze, saving the district about $3 million.

The tax levy would rise by 4.94 percent, from $169.7 million to $178.1 million. The district did not provide an estimate of the tax rate that property owners would pay if voters approve the budget.