Schenectady County Legislature calls public hearing on SUNY Schenectady operating budget; college previews $25.86M plan

The Schenectady County Legislature on June 30 approved a resolution calling a public hearing for the adoption of the SUNY Schenectady Community College operating budget for Sept. 1, 2025–Aug. 31, 2026, and county and college officials outlined the proposed budget in an education committee presentation the same evening.

The resolution (98-25) passed on a roll call of 12 in favor, with 2 members absent and 1 excused. The clerk recorded that the budget hearing will be held Tuesday, July 8 at 7 p.m. in the Legislative Chamber.

The proposed operating budget totals $25,861,000, a $2.2 million decrease from the adopted 2024–25 budget, college representatives told the legislature. "This budget was reviewed by the board of trustees of the community college," Patrick Ryan, a representative of SUNY Schenectady, told the committee. "This was a difficult budget to work on, because of some various factors I'm gonna go through. But we think this is a great budget."

College officials said the proposal includes a placeholder 2.25% across‑the‑board salary increase pending union negotiations and assumes conservative enrollment growth of roughly 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) students for 2025–26, producing a projected 1,799 FTE. Officials said fall data show an uptick of about 50–60 FTE…