Kenmore-Tonawanda reviews 2025 budget draft and proposes $2.125 million bus purchase

Assistant Superintendent Marasco presented the Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District—s first-draft 2025 budget and a related bus purchase proposition at a budget work session on March 4, 2025.

Marasco said the district has reduced the proposed expenditure total by $1,089,523 from the earlier preliminary budget, and that the draft would represent a 4.86% budget-to-budget increase if approved. "We have a $1,089,523 decrease from the first budget that was presented," Marasco said. He reported a $3,390,719 budget gap remaining and said the administration will continue to refine expenditures to close that gap.

On revenue, Marasco said the district increased its total revenue budget by roughly $700,000, bringing the proposed revenue total to $197,604,919, a 3.09% increase. He said the district submitted its tax-cap filing and is proposing a 2.03% increase in the tax levy; he noted the district—s estimated levy limit is 2.16. "So I feel like we're in a good place increasing that as well," Marasco said of the estimate for building aid.

Marasco also presented a bus purchase proposition the administration asked the board to include in the budget: a $2,125,000 resolution to buy 10 vehicles, including two electric buses. He said two of the buses would qualify for grants up to $300,000 and that, after aid, the district—s net cost would be between $547,500 and nearly $575,000 spread over five years. "Even if there's an adjustment to the timeline, which I think there will be with electric vehicles, I still think we're gonna have to do ... electric vehicles," Marasco said, arguing the purchase would help staff gain experience and could make the district eligible for NYSERDA grants and charger installations.

Board members asked clarifying questions about vehicle sizes and routes. One board member asked whether the district would buy full-size or smaller buses; Marasco said the plan includes smaller buses because some streets, particularly in the Village of Kenmore, are difficult for larger vehicles to navigate. A transcript passage alternates between "four" and "six" smaller buses; the administration did not provide a final clarified count during the session.

No budget or bus-resolution vote was recorded in the transcript. The meeting did include procedural votes: the board unanimously approved the meeting agenda at the start of the session and later adjourned by unanimous voice vote.

The district plans one more budget workshop before the tentative budget adoption in April, Marasco said. He said staff will continue reviewing BOCES services, technology, supplies and contractual lines to find efficiencies.

Details discussed in the session were limited to what staff presented; no final decisions on the bus purchase or on the tentative budget were recorded in the public portion of the transcript.