Buffalo Public Schools officials told the board the district faces a financial inflection point and presented a four‑year plan that assumes two school closures and staff reductions to keep the district above state‑mandated fund‑balance minimums. Chief Financial Officer Barnes said the district projects a $49 million deficit for 2024–25 and an approved 2025–26 budget deficit of $78.8 million; the plan aggregates $158 million in projected deficits across 2025–26 through 2028–29 under current assumptions.

Why it matters: The plan links personnel and facility decisions, collective‑bargaining cost assumptions and capital commitments to the district’s cash flow and bond capacity. Officials said without the rightsizing actions built into the plan the district would exhaust its unassigned fund balance within the four‑year window.

Key numbers and assumptions: CFO Barnes said the district would end 2024–25 with a projected total general fund balance of $374 million and an unassigned fund balance of $112 million (about $64 million above the state‑mandated minimum). Under current budget and trend assumptions, and after the rightsizing actions in the plan, the district projects a total fund balance of $216 million and an unassigned balance of $56 million by 2028–29 — roughly $7 million above the state minimum Barnes identified. The plan incorporates flat enrollment projections, projected salary and benefit increases of roughly 2–4% for bargaining units (no one‑time bonuses), an assumed closing of two schools effective 2026–27, and staff reductions of 100 full‑time equivalents in 2026–27 and 200 over the life of the plan.

Rightsizing and implementation steps: The CFO said closing a school will save about $3.4–4.0 million in direct costs annually; staff reductions tied to closures and selective hiring cuts are projected to yield roughly $30 million in savings over the four‑year period. The plan also includes capital activity: a $22 million bond sale scheduled for September, a $2.5 million refinancing of existing bonds due in November, and a new food commissary whose lease and early years of higher payments are planned to be funded from reserves and then covered by operational savings over time. Barnes said the commissary lease costs will be funded from set‑aside reserves for the first eight years and require the district to assign $25 million in reserves to cover years nine through 16 unless rightsizing reduces pressures elsewhere.

Board questions and concerns: Several board members pressed for more detail on enrollment growth and charter tuition pressures. Board Member Cotton said long‑standing use of school building space by non‑instructional adult programs has reduced available capacity and urged stronger efforts to return students to district programs. The CFO described steps to limit charter intercepts and to work with state charter office staff to hold some claims in abeyance; he declined to guarantee outcomes but said savings might be in the low millions annually if intercepts are reduced.

Next steps and governance: The superintendent said he and cabinet meet frequently to implement cost‑cutting measures and the district will present committee resolutions and timelines for school‑closing work this fall; the CFO said rightsizing actions are required in 2026–27 to meet the plan’s targets. Board members signaled the committee to study closures will be formed by resolution, will include board co‑chairs and district cabinet representation, and that nominations and a roster will be submitted for board approval in October. No final board vote to close schools or adopt the rightsizing actions occurred at the work session.

Bottom line: The four‑year plan ties negotiated pay increases, capital commitments and commissary financing to a set of rightsizing actions — notably two school closures and staff reductions — that district leaders say are necessary to protect the unassigned fund balance and maintain cash flow; the board is scheduled to form a closure committee and will consider related recommendations later this fall.