Mount Vernon board adopts $272.2 million 2025–26 budget with 3.3% tax levy increase

Mount Vernon City School Board on April adopted a $272,206,615 budget for the 2025–26 school year and transmitted the required property tax report card to the state, approving a 3.3% increase in the district tax levy that Superintendent’s office staff said would fund contract settlements and preserve programs.

Assistant Superintendent for Business Jose Formosa, who presented the budget, said the plan is intended to create “a path to sustainability” after the district posted multiyear operating deficits and drew down fund balance. "When we started the year, we knew it was going to be a challenging year with the way things were trending fiscally," Formosa said during the board meeting.

The nut of the plan: the district used reorganization savings and expense reductions to close an expected gap and present a $272.2 million spending plan rather than a roll‑over budget that would have approached $289.1 million. Formosa said the adopted budget aims to preserve pre‑K, athletics, after‑school programs and arts offerings while accounting for multiple contract settlements that will be due when bargaining units reach the end of their current contracts.

Why it matters: Formosa told the board that the district’s fund balance dropped from roughly $33 million in 2019 to about $6.9 million at the end of 2024, and that reserves stood at approximately $4.3 million with a projection that, absent the adopted plan, the district could end the current year with very limited reserves. The presentation tied the fiscal strain to years of operating deficits and a long‑term decline in enrollment: the district currently serves about 6,550 students, down from 8,000 in 2014, and BOCES projections cited by Formosa estimate enrollment near 5,200 by 2034.

Major budget numbers and drivers cited in the presentation: - Total 2025–26 budget: $272,206,615. - Revenue mix: roughly 51.6% property taxes and 44.4% state aid; PILOT (payments in lieu of taxes) projected at $1.9 million. - Proposed tax levy increase: 3.3% (district examples showed a hypothetical homeowner with full market value used for tax‑bill calculation would pay about $289 more annually under the 3.3% levy scenario). - Personnel services: projected to fall about $11 million (from roughly $122 million to about $112 million) due to reorganization and other staffing changes. - Transportation: Formosa said transportation costs surged this year after bids returned at roughly 40% above prior estimates; the current‑year run rate for transportation approaches $19 million versus a budgeted $12 million, and the district expects an efficiency study this summer with preliminary savings estimates of $1.5 million to $2.5 million. - Health insurance: premium increases remain a driver (Formosa cited an estimated 8.94% increase that he said contributes roughly $3 million to costs). - Charter and tuition projections: Formosa used a projected charter per‑pupil rate a bit above $19,500 and modeled about 700 charter students in the budget.

Formosa described options the district has discussed with the state, including a likely “state aid spin‑up” (an advance of state aid repayable over a long term). He said state proposals under consideration could include up to $8 million advanced this year, repaid by reduced state aid over 30 years, and that the district expects more clarity in May. Formosa said the district is also pursuing a multi‑year financial plan, a state aid review (scheduled for June) and the transportation efficiency study.

Trustees pressed for clarifications at the meeting. Trustee McDonough and Trustee Mitchell asked about enrollment drivers (Formosa cited lower birth rates in Westchester and COVID‑era migration away from some urban areas) and about the effect of declining reserves on borrowing costs; Formosa said low reserves can negatively affect bond ratings but argued that the adopted budget’s expense reductions should help present a stronger fiscal picture to rating agencies. Trustee questions also focused on PILOT revenue losses, prior uses of fund balance to avoid tax increases, and whether the budget assumed full tax collection. Formosa said the budget includes the full levy but noted the district did not assume prior‑year tax recoveries that are uncertain.

Votes at a glance: at the same meeting the board approved a package of routine items including adult‑education staffing for 2025–26, appointments of impartial hearing officers, the internal claims audit report, the treasurer’s report for March 2025, and the Southern Westchester BOCES administrative budget and trustee election. The board also approved the budget hearing schedule (budget hearing May 6) and set the annual budget vote for May 20. (See actions array below for formal entries.)

Board and next steps: Formosa closed the presentation saying the budget adopted by the board reduces projected next‑year expenses relative to where the district expects to end the current year and aims to return the district to operating surpluses and rebuild reserves. The board will present the budget at a community hearing on May 6; the budget and school‑board election are scheduled for May 20.

Ending: The adopted plan combines short‑term expense reductions with scheduled reviews of state aid and transportation efficiency; Formosa told trustees the district will need to monitor revenues and costs closely through the coming year and continue work to stabilize reserves.