Yorktown board hears $123.1 million proposed budget; advocates press for solar, electric buses

Yorktown Central School District officials on May 12 presented a proposed $123,095,000 budget for the 2025–26 school year — a 3.35% increase — and told residents the tax levy proposal would rise 1.74%, under the district’s allowable cap.

The presentation by Assistant Superintendent for Business Lisa Sanfilippo also included estimated tax-rate impacts by taxing area and an update that state aid increased after the board adopted its preliminary budget.

Why it matters: The board will place the budget before voters on the May 20 ballot. An unexpected $600,000 uptick in state aid — and a separate $3.1 million foundation-aid increase referenced by district staff — changes the fiscal picture only after the formal budget number was set; the board’s fiscal advisory committee will recommend how to allocate those funds.

Sanfilippo told the board and members of the public the district will use about $1.9 million in fund balance rolled from this year into next, including a $700,000 one-time transfer to cover drainage repairs tied to the new athletic-field capital project. "The total proposed budget for the 2526 school year is a hundred and $23,095,000. That is a 3.35% increase over the current year budget," she said. She added that the proposed tax levy increase of 1.74% is below the allowable tax levy cap.

Sanfilippo provided estimated tax-rate increases by parcel area: "The estimated tax rates, for the town of Yorktown is 1.12%. For Cortland, it is 7.59%. And for Newcastle, it is 9.46%." Those figures were presented as estimated rate increases tied to the district’s multiple tax jurisdictions.

The board acknowledged that part of the state budget passed May 6 altered the district’s aid projection. "They originally proposed an increase to our foundation aid of 2,500,000.0. They have upped that. We are now looking at 3,100,000.0 increase in foundation aid," Sanfilippo said; she added that the final state-aid figure arrived after the board adopted the preliminary budget and therefore cannot change the posted budget line item before the vote. The board’s fiscal advisory committee is scheduled to meet to determine the best use of those funds.

Public commenters at the hearing pressed the district to move faster on clean-energy steps. Representing Yorktown 100, a local volunteer group, one speaker urged the board to “make a long range plan to eliminate your use of fossil fuel” and asked whether the district would amend its bus contract to accelerate the replacement of diesel buses with electric models. Another commenter, Mary Jane Killian, said switching to rooftop and parking-lot solar could save money while providing curriculum and job pathways for students: "While solar or other infrastructure is being installed, students are learning all about renewable energy," she said.

Board members and administrators answered procedural questions about the budget book and timelines. The board opened the public hearing by motion and closed it after public comment; the budget is scheduled for a public vote on May 20 as Proposition 1 on the ballot. During the hearing, the district emphasized that additional state aid information would be reviewed by the fiscal advisory committee and that further recommendations would come to the board before any reallocation of budgeted funds.

Looking ahead: The fiscal advisory committee will meet to advise on use of the newly confirmed state aid; any substantive use of those funds that requires board action would be returned to the board for vote or amendment. The district also announced a June 2 presentation by architects and the construction manager on an energy-performance contract as part of the board’s ongoing review of clean-energy options.