Buffalo schools project $158M multi‑year shortfall; plan calls for school closures, staff reductions and commissary financing

Summary

The district's four‑year financial plan projects large deficits and relies on two school closures, staff reductions and other rightsizing steps to preserve the required unassigned fund balance; the superintendent and CFO said the board will receive specific committee and timeline materials this fall.

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…

Buffalo schools project $158M multi‑year shortfall; plan calls for school closures, staff reductions and commissary financing

Summary

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