By JEANETTE WOLFBERG
GHENT—Questar III BOCES has tentatively budgeted $96,169,062 for the 2023-24 school year, which runs from July 1 this year through June 30 next year. This is $5.3 million (5.9%) higher than the $90,846,893 adopted for 2022-23.
Questar provides various services and programs for schools in 21 districts in Columbia, Greene and Rensselaer counties. Each component district purchases the services it wants each year. These services include Career & Technical Education (CTE), Career Studies, and a variety of general education and special education programs and classes. Some programs and classes take place at Questar’s own facilities, some take place in its component district buildings, and some take place at least partly at employment sites, colleges, and other institutions.
In addition, every year each component district pays an administrative/rent/capital fee based on its enrollment. The administrative/capital/rent fee for Columbia County districts in 2023-24 will be:
Chatham: $248,315
Germantown: $139,991
Hudson: $425,795
Ichabod Crane: $493,014
New Lebanon: $107,489
Taconic Hills: $302,200
Questar’s governing board will continue with the same 11 people in 2023-24 as in 2021-22, Dan Sherman reported. The members from Columbia County are: Edmund Brooks of Valatie, Mary Daly of Hudson, Nadine Gazzola of Taconic Hills, and Melony Spock of Chatham. Ms. Gazzola has been the Board President since 2021.
New York State BOCES (Boards of Cooperative Educational Services) provide programs and services that school districts are unable to offer on their own or that are more economical to share with other districts. Questar III is the BOCES for Columbia and parts of Rensselaer and Greene counties.
BOCES themselves share some services. For example, Capital District BOCES provides food services to some Questar III districts, such as the Hudson City School District.
BOCES budgets are determined by revenue generated rather than predetermined expenditures. The BOCES revenue largely comes from the school districts it provides with services. Throughout the school year the budget is adjusted as enrollment in programs fluctuates.
Information about Questar’s final expenditures for 2022-23 will be available after Questar’s board approves that year’s audited financial statements, “typically” around December, said Mr. Sherman, Questar’s director of communications.
