Baldwin proposes $172.88 million budget for 2025–26; tax levy to rise 2.87% as transportation and special-education costs climb

Baldwin Union Free School District Superintendent Dr. Sherry Cammy on March 19 presented a proposed $172,880,888 budget for 2025–26 that would raise the district tax levy by 2.87% — inside New York State’s tax cap — while asking voters to approve use of existing reserves for capital work.

The proposal, which district officials said will be finalized after the state’s budget is set, is a 5.47% budget-to-budget increase (a $8,964,983 delta) from the adopted 2024–25 plan and reflects several rising cost drivers that the district called “mandated and unpredictable.”

Why this matters: the budget funds daily operations, state-mandated services and major capital projects the district plans to complete over the next two years. If state aid is lower than expected, district officials said the plan relies in part on reserves and fund balance to avoid sudden spikes in taxes.

Dr. Cammy said the district had factored three major cost drivers into the plan. “BOCES has announced that they are increasing the cost of transportation by 30%,” she said, and added that “the cost of special education over the last few years is an additional $4,500,000.” She gave a…