Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the District Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District leaders say tight budget year as costs rise; substitutes and health insurance cited as pressures
Summary
Cohoes administrators told the board the district faces a tight budget driven by transportation, utilities and a 10% health‑insurance increase; administrators discussed using a zero‑based budgeting approach and possible substitute pay incentives.
District administrators told the Board of Education on March 5 that the 2025–26 budget will be especially constrained as revenue growth lags expense increases.
Superintendent O'Shea and district administrators described a zero‑based approach to budget building that starts with projected revenues and adds priorities. O'Shea said the district is heavily dependent on state aid and local levy, and that several expense lines are growing faster than revenue — notably transportation costs for McKinney‑Vento and out‑of‑district placements, utilities, and health insurance, which the district projects to rise by about 10%.
"This is the tightest budget we've had in a long time," the superintendent said, adding that the district will not be able to meet every need requested by buildings and will prioritize requests through a transparent process.
Board members and administrators also discussed substitute availability and recruitment. The district is examining options including higher pay for retired teachers who substitute, lowering formal education requirements in certain cases (previously the district required an associate degree), and exploring a "grow your own" strategy that might involve local high‑school students or teacher aides moving into substitute or paraeducator roles.
Administrators said they will share line‑by‑line information with the board, including counts of AIS (Academic Intervention Services) and other staff by building, and will report on return‑on‑investment summaries for new staffing or programs considered by the budget committee.
No formal votes were taken on budgetary policy at the March 5 meeting; administrators requested board guidance as the district finalizes priorities ahead of May budget adoption deadlines.
