Webster CSD previews $104 million preliminary budget, flags rising health, pension costs and uncertain state aid

Webster Central School District on March 4 presented a $104,000,000 preliminary budget for 2025–26 and told board members that state aid calculations and rising benefits and insurance costs make next year’s budget especially uncertain.

At a budget workshop, Mr. Freeman, a district staff member and the meeting’s presenter, led a data-driven review of Foundation Aid, personnel and operating lines, and a proposed change to how the district uses facilities money to maximize state building aid. “Hold harmless means we’re now overfunded. The governor’s minimum increase is more than what the formula would give us,” Mr. Freeman said, explaining why the district’s foundation aid estimate rose despite longer-term formula shortfalls.

The discussion matters because the district must adopt its budget before New York State finishes negotiations on the governor’s executive budget. The presenter warned that several moving parts — the consumer price index used in the formula, recent changes proposed by the Rockefeller panel, and late adjustments in Albany — could affect Webster’s final aid. District staff also called out double-digit projected increases in health-care costs, rising pension rates and higher insurance premiums as the largest near-term budget pressures.

Most important details - Preliminary total: $104,000,000 for fiscal year 2025–26 (presented as the district’s first draft at this workshop). - Foundation Aid: staff walked the board through enrollment, “total wealth pupil units,” assessed value and adjusted…