Averill Park budget shortfall spotlights music staffing and scheduling conflicts

Averill Park Central School District administrators told the board Thursday night they face about a $1.6 million budget gap for 2025–26 and are weighing cuts that could affect instructional support, electives and extracurriculars, including the music program.

The deficit is driven largely by the end of federal stimulus funding rolled into the operating budget and forecasted increases in costs, the district said. Superintendent Dr. Grinchini and staff framed the discussion as an early step in a multi-part budget process: public presentations, a revised recommendation and eventual board adoption in the spring.

Administrators said the district is using a “modified rollover” that already factors in a governor-proposed increase in Foundation Aid (roughly 6.25 percent in the governor’s proposal) but that the aid amount is not final. “We don’t know where we’re going to land,” a member of the administrative team said, noting the legislature could raise the governor’s number.

Why it matters: district leaders said they have reduced staffing through attrition in prior years and are now running out of…