Community Message - Settlement with City of Mount Vernon
Dr. K. Veronica Smith, Acting Superintendent of Schools:
The Mount Vernon City School District is pleased to have reached two settlements of its dispute with the City of Mount Vernon regarding school taxes from the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years to the District.
Under an initial settlement agreement from September, the District is receiving monthly payments from the City of $350,000 – this is set to be increased to $450,000 in July – to pay the balance of what the District is owed from back taxes. At one point, the City owed the District as much as $11.78 million.
The settlement the District has recently agreed to with the City pays out $2.1 million in interest, which will help rectify the impact that the lost funding has had for the past seven years. During this time, the District was required to meet many of its own financial obligations without full tax funding, which put a strain on our finances.
With the balance currently being paid off, and interest set to be paid to the District, we can utilize these funds to support the ongoing education of our students.
“Despite this settlement, we are still in fiscal stress,” said In-House Counsel Royce Russell. “Moreover, we are discussing tax adjustments for future budgets while working to gain trust from the community to support strong educational programs and academic improvements.”
Our partnership with the City is vital to the District, and this resolution allows our partnership to continue to grow to benefit our students.
We would like to thank Attorney General Letitia James, State Senator Jamaal T. Bailey, State Assemblyman Gary L. Pretlow, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah, members of the City of Mount Vernon, especially Comptroller Dr. Darren Morton, and the residents of Mount Vernon for their support.
We are happy to put this issue behind us and are committed to using this opportunity to provide our students and taxpayers with comprehensive, high-quality educational programs.
Parents throughout the Mount Vernon City School District entered the buildings of their children's school, ready to join them for a day full of learning and fun during the 28th annual Parent Involvement Day on Monday, February 10, 2025.
Celine Buchanan, a senior and dance major at the Denzel Washington School of the Arts, maintains her spot in the top 10% of her school by staying extremely dedicated to her academics and artistry. Over the past four years, Celine has maintained a 4.0 grade point average, a consistent spot on the honor roll, and dazzled members of the Mount Vernon community with her excellent dancing skills.
Mount Vernon Knights Varsity Wrestling held Senior Night on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, and wrapped up the regular season earlier this week. Playoffs will start with divisional matches in Division A on Saturday, February 8, at the Westchester County Center.
A community forum was held at Mount Vernon Honor Academy on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, for District staff, parents and families, and other members of the Mount Vernon community to provide input that will help shape a desired profile for the next leader of the Mount Vernon City School District. Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) will outline selection criteria for the District's next superintendent and leadership characteristics that align with the District’s needs. HYA will present a report to the Board of Education on Thursday, February 13.
Consultants from Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) presented the process and timeline for the Mount Vernon City School District’s superintendent search at the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, February 4, 2025.
Dear Mount Vernon City School District Community,
In recent weeks, there have been significant changes within the government and to decades long existing policies. Among those policy changes is enabling Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to carry out immigration enforcement actions in churches and schools. This is of grave concern for our school community [...]