Ballston Spa Central School District officials presented a draft 2025–26 budget at the April 2 Board of Education meeting and described a mix of staffing retirements, program reallocations and in‑house service changes intended to close a deficit without layoffs.

District business official Mr. Sirianni, who led the numerical portion of the presentation, described the employee‑benefits section as among the district’s largest costs and noted shifts in retirement and insurance rates. “The TRS rate … is 9.59% for next year, which is a 5.1% decrease,” Mr. Sirianni said, and he reported that ERS employer costs “went up quite a bit… to 15.5%.” He also said health‑insurance renewals ranged “between 11–15%,” and that the district realized savings after about 200 participants enrolled in a Medicare Part D plan.

Why it matters: state aid and local tax limits will shape the district’s final ask to voters in May. Superintendent Dr. Duca said the draft is built on a baseline state aid assumption of 2% and that final state aid numbers, expected within 10–14 days of the meeting, could change the proposal.

Key budget drivers and how officials plan to close the gap

- State aid and tax cap: The district is working from a 2% foundation‑aid assumption. Mr. Sirianni said the district’s allowable tax cap for 2026 is 5.2%, which includes 2.4% attributable to new construction (described in the presentation as “new growth”). He also cited reductions in the GlobalFoundries PILOT as an ongoing local revenue pressure.

- Retirement incentive and absorbed retirements: To reduce the need for layoffs, district leaders negotiated a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the teachers’ association that included a retirement incentive. The district reported 18 total retirements this year and said it will absorb many of those positions rather than execute layoffs. The board packet listed the positions absorbed through retirement as: 1 administrator, 3 teaching assistants, 5 high‑school classroom teachers, 2 middle‑school classroom teachers and 1 elementary librarian. The district said it will replace a smaller set of retirements (listed as 1 teaching assistant, 3 high‑school teachers, 1 elementary teacher and 1 elementary counselor).

- Summer school and Extended School Year (ESY): District leaders said there will be a trimmed summer‑school program for 2025 (larger class sizes are possible, and programming will be attendance‑dependent). ESY (special‑education summer services) will be offered entirely in house this summer rather than outsourcing to BOCES. The administration said last year about 70 students were slated for ESY and roughly 50 attended; for planning this year ESY will be offered across buildings (K–3 at Gordon Creek, grades 4–8 at the middle school, and 9–12 at the high school).

- Special education continuum changes: The district announced plans to begin implementing a Direct Consultant Teacher (DCT) program at Malta Avenue starting in kindergarten next year, as part of a roughly four‑ to five‑year progression to have DCT at all elementary buildings and move 15:1 classrooms to the complex where more inclusion opportunities exist. The district also will pilot an “intensive math” intervention for K–5 students, described as a targeted 30‑minute pullout grouped by need; administration said resource rooms typically operate in a smaller ratio (described in the presentation as 5:1) while the intensive math groups would be larger (described as 15:1) but targeted by grade and need.

- Career & Technical Education (CTE): The proposed budget includes funding for 70 students to take off‑campus BOCES CTE courses and continues to fund in‑district CTE offerings (construction, video production and other strands), which leadership said remain priorities.

Board questions and next steps

Board members asked for clarification about DCT staging and ESY logistics. One board member asked whether moving ESY in‑house could increase participation; district staff said that is possible but not certain. Dr. Duca and Mr. Sirianni said the next public budget presentation is scheduled for April 22 and that the district will communicate details to the public and hold forums before the May budget vote.

Ending: The district will finalize its budget after the final state‑aid run and expects to adopt a final budget in the next board meeting cycle before the public vote in May. The administration emphasized it is aiming to close the current gap without layoffs by using retirements, targeted program adjustments and conservative resource reallocations.