Kenmore-Tonawanda presents first draft of 2025-26 budget showing 5.43% expense increase and $5.18M gap

Assistant Superintendent Nicole Morasco presented the Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District's first draft of the 2025-26 budget Thursday, outlining a $202,085,161 spending plan that she said would represent a 5.43% increase in total expenses from the prior year and leave a budget gap of $5,180,242.

Morasco told the board the district is prioritizing safety and will include increased security spending, a bus replacement plan and debt service driven by prior capital projects. "We're prioritizing safety this year and working with our team on increased security measures," Morasco said during the presentation.

The draft relies on two principal revenue increases: the local tax levy and state aid. Morasco said the district's estimated allowable tax levy increase is $2,065,950 and that the district's estimated levy limit would allow a 2.16% increase over last year, bringing the tax levy to about $97,925,663 if the district used the full allowable increase. She said she intentionally budgeted conservatively to avoid potential audit findings.

On the expense side, Morasco said salaries and benefits account for roughly 72% of the district's budget. Between contractual salary increases and employee benefits she cited a combined figure of about $5,200,000, which she described as the largest driver of increases. Morasco also highlighted health-insurance costs, saying the district's health-insurance budget rose from roughly $13,000,000 when she started in 2020 to about $19,000,000 last year.

Special-education tuition for out-of-district placements is another growing cost, Morasco said, rising roughly $1,600,000 this year (a 12% year-over-year increase) and increasing those tuition payments to about 6.3% of the district's budget versus 5.8% last year.

Morasco said the draft includes a plan to replace 10 buses this year, two of which would be electric. She noted the district skipped bus purchases last year and that this cycle includes smaller buses to match changing student-transportation needs. She also warned that 2026 is the last year districts will be allowed to buy gasoline and diesel school buses under forthcoming state rules, and that districts are seeking guidance.

On revenues, Morasco said the executive budget projected a 9.85% increase in foundation aid versus the prior legislative run; she built a more conservative number into the draft. She also described variability in building aid, BOCES and transportation reimbursements and cited a formula change that replaced older census inputs with SAIPE data, which affected aid projections.

Morasco said the district has worked to reduce its use of appropriated fund balance and reserves since 2020 and estimates the district will end the year with approximately $45,000,000 in fund balance and reserves. She said cabinet and leadership will continue program and staffing reviews and present enrollment projections at a future meeting as the district works to close the $5,180,242 gap.

Superintendent Smarter praised Morasco's work after the presentation, saying, "Wonderful job, Assistant Superintendent Morozko." The board did not take any formal vote on the budget draft; Morasco said the board is aiming for a tentative budget adoption on April 8.

In other business, the board welcomed nurse practitioner Maggie Corcoran, who began work last Monday and was described by a district speaker as having "a wealth of experience" at university clinics and in teaching.

Procedural votes during the session included unanimous approval of the meeting agenda (motion by Trustee Leanne; second by Trustee Fred) and adoption of the motion to adjourn (motion by Trustee Karen; second by Trustee Paul).