Victor Central reviews preliminary 2025–26 budget, flags roughly $950,000 state-aid bump and building reallocations

Victor Central School District officials reviewed preliminary 2025–26 budget allocations and the governor’s initial state-aid proposal during a budget workshop, saying the district would see roughly a $950,000 increase in state aid (about 2.42%) under the governor’s numbers.

The presentation, led by Richard Stutzman, interim business official, outlined building-level changes to equipment, supplies and library allocations and described how the district is reallocating some line items to maximize state aid and preserve reserves. Dr. Terranova (title used in meeting) introduced the discussion and said Christine Griffin will join the district in about two weeks as assistant superintendent for business and will take over the budget process.

Why it matters: State aid and local budget choices determine how much the district can maintain staff, services and programs. Officials warned the governor’s proposal is preliminary; the Legislature and the governor must agree on a final state budget, and the district is preparing for multiple scenarios.

Stutzman said the district is adjusting how it groups certain state-aidable categories so it does not forfeit unused funding. For example, the Early Childhood School’s equipment allocation was reduced from $25,000 to $7,500, with $12,500 reallocated to the district’s general school equipment line to preserve spending flexibility. The Early Childhood School also received a $4,000 increase to its field-trip line so kindergarten–5 field trips follow a uniform $7,000 per grade-level guideline, Stutzman said.

Across buildings, the presentation listed similar reallocations: $32,100 allocated to provide building-administrator funds for special-education teachers in one building, $25,100 moved from a health-services line to the building nurses’ budget so principals will control those dollars, and general supply increases to cover inflation. Stutzman described library books, textbooks, software and computer hardware as fungible within the state aid category and said the district aims to equalize library allocations to $13,200 per elementary building where appropriate.

Officials explained why the district groups and reassigns line items: some state-allocated categories must be spent as designated or the money is returned to the state. "If you don't use it, you'll lose it," Stutzman said, and the district tries to spend aid in the most aidable way while preserving flexibility by shifting funds where allowed.

On state aid, Stutzman said the district’s 2024–25 state aid is roughly $39 million and that the governor’s preliminary 2025–26 numbers would increase aid to about $40 million—an increase Stutzman described as roughly $950,000 (2.42%). He said foundation aid in the governor’s proposal is up 4.3%; building aid is down slightly (less than 1%); BOCES aid is down nearly 12%; transportation aid is up about 3.86%; and other state aid categories are up roughly 2.5%.

Both Stutzman and Dr. Terranova cautioned those figures are a moment-in-time estimate. Stutzman said the governor’s proposal does not yet reflect recently approved local contracts with BOCES and transportation providers; after accounting for contracted increases, the district expects actual BOCES and transportation aid to be higher than the governor’s initial numbers. "We should receive more than what's reflected in the 25–26 governor's numbers," Stutzman said, calling the governor’s figures "conservative" for those categories.

District officials laid out next steps and internal schedule items tied to the budget calendar: a personnel review on Wednesday, March 12; a review of revenues and the tax-cap calculation around Jan. 27 (the transcript noted the tax-cap submission deadline the next day); and an Office of Instruction and Approval Services review on Feb. 13. Stutzman and Dr. Terranova said the board will receive three-to-five-year projections of debt, aid and expenses so members can see longer-term effects of the district’s newly approved capital project.

Capital project and reserves: Stutzman said the district’s recently approved $99 million capital project will be partly funded from reserves; the district has built a capital reserve that will pay about $28 million toward that project. He said the first debt service payments related to the project are expected to begin in the 2026–27 school year and that the district worked with fiscal advisers to time payments to avoid a gap when one debt issue falls off and the new project begins.

Officials emphasized contingency planning. The district’s current approach, Stutzman said, budgets slightly below full estimated cost (he described budgeting roughly 96% of expenses to preserve a 3.5–4% contingency) so the district keeps reserves for emergencies or unanticipated costs. They are also refining how they apply contractual increases (for example, whether to apply negotiated-percent increases to full budgeted positions or to estimated actual payroll figures) to avoid overstating future costs.

Field trips and outside support: Board members and staff discussed the Victor Education Foundation and PTSA contributions. Stutzman said the foundation has subsidized some field trips (for example, a fourth-grade trip) but that the district has assumed more field-trip funding in its operating budget; principals and the foundation still provide additional support on a limited basis.

Teacher out-of-pocket costs: A board member asked about teacher out-of-pocket classroom-supply spending. Stutzman said amounts can vary; during the meeting staff noted a $300 educator tax adjustment commonly used for classroom supplies and said that, for many teachers, out-of-pocket spending is at least that amount.

What was not decided: No formal votes or final budget adoption occurred. Board members and staff discussed reallocation options, advocacy to the state, and the need to refine personnel and fringe estimates before the board adopts a final budget. Officials repeatedly cautioned that the governor’s numbers are preliminary and that the Legislature could change totals before a final state budget.

The district plans to continue advocacy with legislators and the governor’s office and to refine expense projections through early March so the board can make an informed budget decision in line with the tax-cap submission and district policy timelines.