Three Village budget shows $7.5 million shortfall; trustees debate using reserves and delaying ‘Start Schools Later’

The Three Village Central School District's Budget Advisory Committee told the Board of Education on March 26 that the proposed 2025-26 budget contains a shortfall of about $7,500,000 as of the March 18 draft, leaving roughly $1,971,907 still to be addressed after some proposed reductions.

The committee presented its final report to the board and recommended a suite of reductions and process changes. "The current proposed budget for 2526 as of March 18 . . . contains a shortfall of about $7,500,000," the BAC report said. Committee members told the board they had met since October and reviewed staffing, enrollment, capital projects and benefits costs.

Why it matters: staffing is the district's largest cost and trustees warned that cuts would increase class sizes and reduce services. Dr. Scanlon and budget staff told the board that roughly 75% of the budget is staffing; the administration's proposal would reduce elementary teachers by 14 full-time equivalents (FTEs), reduce secondary staff by 17.4 FTEs, and cut about 29 FTE teaching assistants. Elementary class sizes in some grades could approach 27 students.

The board and administration described cost drivers: multi-year contract increases, a sharp rise in health insurance and pharmaceutical costs, and payroll-related retirement-system contributions. The administration reported transportation costs associated with the Start Schools Later (SSL) initiative at "about a little over $1,100,000." The BAC and board also agreed to recommend reducing next year's capital-project appropriation from $3,000,000 to $1,500,000 to lower the district's tax-cap calculation to 2.78%.

Trustees debated tapping the district reserve fund to avoid immediate layoffs. Several trustees urged caution about using reserves as a long-term fix but acknowledged using one-time funds could buy time for attrition and retirements to reduce personnel naturally. "At best, this is a short-term solution," one trustee said during discussion of reserves and attrition; another said using reserves could allow restoration of some elementary staff now and ease harms to students.

Board member Dr. McKinnon described the financial picture bluntly: "We are at the all at once stage," and urged the board to require economic and educational impact statements before approving future contracts to avoid repeating unsustainable agreements.

Process and next steps: the board plans to adopt the budget on April 9, file the property-tax report card with the State Education Department the next day, hold the legal budget hearing on May 13 and place the budget on the May 20 ballot. The administration said final state aid numbers are still pending and could materially reduce the remaining gap if the final state budget raises aid above the governor's executive proposal (administration estimates an additional $250,000to$300,000 is conceivable).

Clarifying details from the meeting: the BAC recommended further evaluation of plant consolidation, possible increases to pre-K fees to make the program revenue neutral, research into employee health-contribution norms and buyback options, and consideration of consolidating certain elementary operations. The committee noted class-size impacts are most severe in grades 2to4 and recommended restoring elementary staff if funds allow.

Board members and the superintendent said they will continue negotiations with bargaining units and pursue non-staff reductions where possible before finalizing the April 9 adoption.