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West Seneca outlines budget timeline; officials warn fund balance will decline
Summary
Superintendent William Krueger and school business official Will Field presented a budget-development timeline that culminates with the May budget vote and highlighted pressures from health-care costs, special-education needs, and the tax cap.
Superintendent William Krueger and School Business Official Will Field presented an overview of the 2025–26 budget development process and warned that the district will continue to draw down fund balance accrued during the pandemic-era aid period.
Krueger told the board the district will complete a series of presentations leading to the Board of Education's adoption of a proposed budget in April and a public vote on the third Tuesday in May. "This will ultimately culminate with a school budget vote and annual election on the 3rd Tuesday in May," he said.
Field outlined four budget goals: staffing that supports instruction, maintaining facilities/transportation/technology, long-term financial sustainability and clear public communication. He said the district is revisiting classroom staffing and technology deployment after the 1:1 device expansion forced by the pandemic. "Do we want to be handing every 5 year old in kindergarten a Chromebook? If so, our budget should be reflective of that," Krueger said.
Officials emphasized continuing cost pressures: rising employee-benefit costs tied to ERS and health insurance; uncertainty over state foundation-aid allocations pending the governor's announcement; ongoing special-education and related-services growth; and supply-chain impacts on vehicle and equipment procurement. Field said the district has been purchasing Chromebooks on a roughly four-year cycle using a mix of instructional materials aid, installment purchase agreements and Smart Schools Bond Act and E-Rate funding.
The district launched a budget advisory committee in the fall and will solicit public input through presentations and published materials. Krueger said the next budget advisory committee meeting is Jan. 13, and the board's Jan. 21 work session will include a deeper dive into anticipated and fixed costs.
No budget adoption or tax-levy decision occurred at the Jan. 7 meeting; board members asked for clearer early opportunities for community input during development rather than only during public presentations later in the process.
