Intro:
Recently, Amity Board candidate Meghan Rabuse (Orange) raised several questions about how Amity manages its budget, surplus, and transparency.
In the interest of voter education, we reviewed those claims using Amity’s own public data, financial documents, and what we’ve learned over the last several years — here’s what we found, in plain language.
Disclaimer - this was completely written by me, with no input from outside of my organization, Amity Allies. We work independently of the Amity administration, Board members, candidates, and political parties to bring you accurate, non-partisan information relating to the Amity District, which is responsible for educating 7th-12th graders in the towns of Bethany, Orange, and Woodbridge.
[signed]
Robert Lim
Chairperson and Co-Founder, Amity Allies
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Reality check: The Superintendent has repeatedly stated that Amity builds its budget from scratch annually — a best practice called zero-based budgeting. The process starts each fall, based on the district’s anticipated needs.
A surplus simply means revenue came in higher than expenses — just like when a household ends the year with a little left over. Revenues include grant funding, which the district pursues aggressively.
Why it matters: Building the budget from the ground up helps keep it accurate and the district is always looking to offset its costs.
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Reality Check: Budget increases describe the change in next year’s budget compared to this year’s budget. That’s a standard practice that literally everyone does.
Why it matters: Budgets are plans to spend - while it may be helpful to compare this year’s budget with the same year’s spend, there’s lots of situations when this year’s costs cannot accurately predict next year’s - like insurance claims.
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What we found: The reserve fund allocation to capital projects is public — listed in the district’s budget documents (pg 63-64) and reviewed in board packets several times a year (pgs 46 and 49 in this packet).
Why it matters: Setting aside funds for big replacements or upgrades is considered good fiscal management, which the Town of Orange also does. It’s like saving for a new roof instead of scrambling to make payments or taking out a loan later.
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What we found: That’s true. Paying off older debt creates room to absorb rising costs elsewhere. Superintendent Byars explained this to Ms. Rabuse in this clip from 2023.
Why it matters: This flexibility can help keep tax rates steadier and protect programs from sudden cuts.
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Reality check: In 2022, Ms. Rabuse urged voters to reject Amity’s budget, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in budget cuts - see photos below.
Why it matters: Serving on the Board means shaping the budget before we have our say. Considering 78% of voters in Orange voted YES to the Amity Referendum in May, they should consider how candidates have approached past funding decisions.
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We urge all voters to do their research to learn where the Amity Board candidates stand on critical issues such as budgeting, curriculum, and how they see their role in town / district relations.
For more information on the candidates, please see our Voter Guide.
More Resources
Meghan Rabuse’s statement can be viewed below, along with other resources to help you make an educated vote, including:
Screenshots from the coordinated effort to defeat Amity’s budget at referendum in 2022, including Ms. Rabuse’s video contribution to that effort
Video from the Superintendent’s presentation of the 2023-24 Amity budget to the Board of Finance, at which Ms. Rabuse attended as an Board of Finance alternate, which includes:
Ms. Rabuse raising her concerns about capital spending and Superintendent Byars’ response.
Ms. Rabuse raising the impact of decreased bond payments and Superintendent Byars’ response.
(Video via Orange Government Access Television)
