Residents are being hit with a huge increases, yet there are no numbers or statistics to be shared. Meanwhile, school districts often can’t pay for the basic supplies that teachers need to start off the school year in September. We are seeing more and more ‘Go Fund Me’ accounts that teachers have started to help themselves out financially. Where is this money going?<\/p>\n
\u201cSuperintendent Kevin Richard said Albany pays \u201caround\u201d $13,000 per year to educate its elementary school students. The state average cost to educate elementary school students is between $14,000-$15,000 per year, according to Richard.<\/p>\n The formula that you folks use to pay tuition is based on your equalized valuation and the number of students that you have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The town of Albany, Richard said, has “a small amount of equalized evaluation” because “you have mostly national forest. So your tax base, your property valuation is not real big. It\u2019s similar to Chatham, and Chatham has a lot of national forest. In order to raise $100,000, that\u2019s going to be a dollar on your tax rate.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n