A tax break for a local developer could cost Watertown's school district millions of dollars over the next ten years. Our Amanda Kelley tells us what it means for the school and community.

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WATERTOWN, N.Y. -- Watertown's school district continues to face tight budgets, something many schools throughout the area are also dealing with.

"We have looked at staff reductions, we have looked at additional funds from our fund balance, our unappropriated fund balance," said Watertown School District Superintendent Terry Fralick.

But now a housing development in the works on Outer Arsenal Street could bring nearly 300 new students into the district. It's something that would help alleviate the housing crunch in the Fort Drum community, but it's crunching Watertown's budget as well.

School Board President Michael Flick said, "The kids are great. We love having them, we're not trying to get rid of them. We'd like more but there's a reality there for us that we need to keep the lights on and the doors open too."

CORS Development is asking for a tax break on this housing project. That would take money away from helping to educate the influx of new students. Right now the school faces a $3,500 gap between the cost of educating a child and the amount of state aid received. Multiply that by some 300 more students coming into the district, and they'll be shorted about $9 million over a ten year period.

Flick said, "That money, if we get 296 kids, that's the number. And that's not their fault, we can only extract so much out of a property based on the valuation."

School board member Delta Willis said, "Even if they paid full taxation, we'd still be in the hole, so I don't see any point in digging the hole deeper for ourselves. That's all."

CORS Development hasn't submitted a full proposal to the district, nor have they explained their need for the exemption.

"We've asked, they've declined, I hate to say it's that simple, but I can't speak on their behalf. We know what we know, and that's what we have to work with," Flick said.

Without more information, the board has tabled the vote, hoping to receive more details by the end of the week.