Minisink Valley District Residents Overwhelmingly Voted Down New Library

A digital sign reminding residents of the Oct. 18 Minisink Valley School District public library vote is seen outside the Town of Mount Hope town hall, N.Y., on Oct. 2, 2022. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

Residents in the Minisink Valley School District— the only school district in Orange County, New York, without a public library—voted down a new library budget by a five-to-one margin.

The library referendum, which took place on Oct. 18, drew about 2,500 people, a turnout of around 16 percent among total registered voters, according to a school district spokesperson.

The turnout is 60 percent more than that of the school budget vote in May.

“It shows the true intentions of the community. People are struggling to put food on the table, and doing a tax increase just wasn’t going to be right—I also don’t think they felt there was a need for it,” Town of Mount Hope Councilman Christopher Furman told The Epoch Times on Oct. 19.

Residents shared the same sentiments with the publication outside the Otisville Elementary School, one of two polling sites, on the day of the vote.

Residents enter the Otisville Elementary School building to vote on the Minisink Valley District public library referendum, in Otisville, N.Y., on Oct. 18, 2022. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

“Our school taxes are already very high. Everything keeps getting more expensive. With the economy like this, I don’t think we need more taxes,” one Otisville resident said.

The library’s first-year budget was $534,500, about 1 percent of the school tax levy.

The largest chunk—42 percent—of the library budget covers personnel costs, including salaries, social security, health insurance, and retirement contributions.

Another retiree couple told The Epoch Times that they lived on a fixed income and—though they like the idea of a public library—would not want another tax hike.

In May, Minisink Valley District residents approved a school tax increase of $3.6 million—or by 3.89 percent— by a narrow margin.

A Mount Hope resident said she had been using Thrall Library in Middletown, and the services were satisfactory.

“We don’t need a library, and we don’t need our taxes to go up,” she said.

Minisink Valley District families can apply for one library card per household through their own town clerk, which gives them access to Port Jervis and Middletown libraries.

The Port Jervis Free Library in Port Jervis, N.Y., on Sept. 2, 2016. Yvonne Marcotte/Epoch Times

Each card costs about $75, which is paid by town taxes.

Families with children attending the district can access five school libraries.

The district encompasses four towns in western Orange County—Mount Hope, Greenville, Wawayanda, and Minisink—as well as portions of the towns of Wallkill and Mamakating.

A small portion of district residents already has a public library, such as those living in Mamakating.

Mamakating resident Bridget Simmons said she voted no because she doesn’t want to be double-taxed.

Under the law, the school district shall absorb all costs incurred for the library vote, which is $7,530, according to a district spokesperson on Nov. 4.

Support for A New Library

Mount Hope resident Pamela Kraft told The Epoch Times that a public library would provide her grandchild with more cultural and educational programs. She voted yes.

That was also a view expressed by another Mount Hope resident, Anne Friedel, at an Oct. 4 public hearing.

Anne Friedel, a resident of the Town of Mount Hope and a committee member of Friends of Minisink Valley Public Library, answers questions at the library public hearing at Greenville Resource Center, N.Y., on Oct. 4, 2022. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

“We want programs that are tailored to our own community. Wouldn’t it be nice if we were a priority of our own library instead of having to be put on waiting lists of somebody else’s libraries?” Friedel said at the hearing.

“Once the new library enters the Ramapo Catskill Library System, district residents can enjoy its five-day-a-week delivery service, which allows them to borrow books from four dozen libraries within the system and pick up the books at their own library,” she added.

Friedel also ran for the library board and got 582 votes.

New York state allows four types of libraries: association libraries, municipal public libraries, special district public libraries, and school district public libraries—the kind that Minisink Valley families voted on. The library shall be run by its own board, separate from the school board.

The top three vote-getters for the library board are Kathleen Hosking, Paul Rickard, and John Buying, at 1,574, 1,493, and 1,216 votes, respectively, according to the results published by Minisink Valley School District.

Paul Rickard, a resident of the Town of Mount Hope, speaks against a new library at a public hearing at Greenville Resource Center, N.Y., on Oct. 4, 2022. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

District resident Peter Kosciolek voted yes because he believes a library brings together a community.

Kosciolek grew up in a New Jersey suburb that has its own library. After moving to a rural area within the school district, he felt that the geographic distances among neighbors make it hard to build a strong sense of community.

“My gut tells me that it’s probably a good thing. But I don’t think it was a well-thought-out budget. I also feel they could have done more outreach, so more people know the benefits of a library,” he told The Epoch Times.

At the Oct. 4 public hearing, residents asked for the location of the proposed library and the number of books to be carried but got no answers.

The budget proposes to rent a 2,000-square-foot space—which could be at Greenville Resource Center or a storefront within the school district—at a monthly rent of $2,500.

One resident was concerned the library might be far from the center of the 115-square-mile school district and inconvenient for some residents.

A third of the budget, about $179,000, is expected to be spent on books and other library materials.

The Epoch Times reached out to Friends of Minisink Valley Public Library—a committee of residents pushing the library referendum—for comments but got no response before press time.