Cornwall Central projects $93.45 million rollover budget, faces roughly $322,000 gap after reserves

At the Cornwall Central School District Board of Education meeting on Feb. 24, budget presenter Mr. Fink laid out a preliminary “rollover” budget for the 2025–26 school year that would carry forward ongoing programs and obligations and show expenditures of $93,448,962.

The district’s projected revenues in the model were about $90,626,690, leaving a nominal shortfall of roughly $2.82 million. After applying the district’s historically used unassigned fund balance of $2,500,000, administrators said the remaining deficit would be about $322,272.

The rollover approach preserves existing programs and obligations rather than adding new initiatives; it does not include “wish list” items discussed previously, Mr. Fink said. The presentation matters because the board must reconcile the gap while staying within the state property tax cap if possible and finalizing a budget for the April adoption and the May 20 public vote.

Key figures and assumptions from the presentation: - Rollover expenditures (2025–26): $93,448,962. - Current-year expenditures (2024–25): $90,260,773 (difference ≈ $3.19 million). - Revenue model (2025–26): $90,626,690, including a 3% property tax levy increase assumed for modeling purposes. - State-aid increase assumed in the model: a little more than $1 million, pending the state’s final aid run. - Typical unassigned fund balance used as revenue: $2,500,000 (historical practice).

“Our maximum available tax levy, based on the tax cap, is at 3.08%,” Mr. Fink said during the presentation, and added that the administration modeled a 3% levy for the budget draft. He emphasized that the final state aid run — which the district will not know until April, and sometimes later — is an open item affecting the revenue side.

Board members and administrators identified several unresolved cost drivers, including: - Special education placements and related services (out-of-district day and residential placements). Mr. Fink said the district currently pays roughly $90,000 on average for students in BOCES day programs and cited one residential placement costing more than $162,000. - Ongoing contract negotiations with three bargaining units, including the teachers’ unit; those settlements will affect salary and benefit projections. - Health insurance and pension contribution rates (TRS at ~10% and ERS increasing to about 16.5% in the projection), which together represent large, required costs. - Debt service tied to past capital projects and a bond anticipation note that the district is carrying until permanent financing and New York State reimbursement are finalized. - Utilities and a Village of Cornwall water-rate increase affecting water/sewer costs.

Transportation also drew sustained attention. The administration said district transportation averages about 830,000 miles per year across regular routes, out-of-district trips, vocational routes, athletics and extracurricular travel. Board members requested a brief high-level breakdown (school routes vs. athletics vs. out-of-district) and the administration said it could provide that information.

On capital and security, administrators proposed a $300,000 “transfer to capital” for safety and emergency-notification system work (interior/exterior strobes, lockdown buttons, control servers). Mr. Fink said the transfer to capital can influence the allowable tax levy calculation; he noted that the district’s budget model included such a transfer in its assumptions.

Public comment touched on the trade-offs under discussion. Joelle Aguilar, who identified herself as a second-grade teacher at Cornwall Elementary School and a district resident, urged caution about cutting positions added during the COVID period — social workers, counselors and other staff who, she said, provide daily services to students with academic, social and emotional needs. “The extra people that were hired during that time... serve a great purpose in our building. They are not people that are expendable,” Aguilar said.

Board discussion focused on next steps rather than immediate cuts. Administrators said they will re-engage school leaders to reprioritize allocations and return with revised proposals. Mr. Fink described a process of “reevaluate and reconsider proposed expenditures” and “redistribute proposed allocations” as the administration refines numbers.

Important calendar dates the board noted: additional budget work sessions on March 10 and March 24, an April 24 budget adoption target and a May 20 budget vote.

Votes at a glance (consent and personnel actions taken Feb. 24): - Items 2 and 5 on the consent agenda — passed (board approved these items; vote count not specified on the record). - Item 4 on the consent agenda — carried with one abstention (the board member identified as Christian registered an abstention on the record). - Item 3 (personnel actions) — considered after an executive session later in the meeting and approved; the public minutes state there were two votes in opposition but the names of those voting no were not specified in the public roll call.

What’s next: Administration will return with more detailed revenue and expenditure scenarios, historical fund-balance percentages by year at board request, and a trimmed set of prioritized options for closing the remaining gap. The board directed staff to refine assumptions, collect additional detail about transportation and special-education placements, and continue contract negotiations.

Ending note: District leaders repeatedly framed the rollover presentation as an initial, conservative step in a longer budget-development process rather than a final spending plan. The administration emphasized the open items — especially the state aid run and contract settlements — that will determine whether the board can stay under the tax cap or will need to consider other measures before the April adoption.