Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget School Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wappingers budget update: trustees hear recommended Budget No. 2; district plans 1.4% tax‑levy increase using $12.3M fund balance pending state aid
Summary
District finance staff presented Recommended Budget No. 2 and an update on state aid at the April 7 board meeting. The proposed budget holds a 1.4% tax‑levy increase below the calculated tax‑cap maximum and would use $12.3 million of general fund balance to offset the levy; the presentation is contingent on state budget actions.
Wappingers Central School District staff told the Board of Education on April 7 that Recommended Budget No. 2 holds a proposed tax‑levy increase of 1.4% — below the district’s calculated tax‑cap maximum of 1.57% — and would use $12,300,000 of the district’s general fund balance to offset the levy while maintaining current programs.
Assistant Superintendent Kristen Dainty, identified in the meeting as the district finance lead who has led preparation of the budget, summarized the budget timeline and numbers and said the figures use the governor’s executive budget proposal as a planning baseline. The presentation noted that because New York State had not passed a final state budget, the district’s figures remain subject to change once state aid amounts are finalized.
Dainty and district staff presented these specific points: the district’s proposed tax‑levy increase is 1.4%; the tax cap calculation yielded a maximum allowable levy increase of 1.57% under current Consumer Price Index numbers; the district recommends applying $12.3 million from the general fund balance to offset the levy and preserve services including mental‑health supports, special education, safety and career and technical education; and the overall budget-to-budget increase is about $15–16 million, with the levy covering roughly 60% of revenue and state aid and grants covering roughly 40%.
District staff said the numbers are based on the governor’s executive proposal, which includes continuation of the foundation aid formula and universal prekindergarten funding; they said the district will revise figures if the legislature changes state aid. The presentation estimated that an additional $600,000 in state aid would reduce the levy increase below 1% and that roughly $1 million would reduce it to about 0.75%.
Officials reiterated the planned public schedule: a revised budget may be provided to the board at the April 22 meeting if state aid numbers arrive; a community presentation and the state‑mandated public hearing on the budget are slated for May; and the budget vote is scheduled for May 20, 2025. The district provided procedures for absentee and early mail ballots and listed the district clerk contact (alberta.pedro@wcsdny.org) for ballot applications.
The board received the update as an informational presentation; no final budget adoption vote occurred at the April 7 meeting. District staff said any additional state aid the district receives would be used in full to reduce the tax levy.
