Batavia proposes $63 million 2025–26 budget, seeks 2.22% tax levy
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Summary
Superintendent Jason Smith presented a proposed $63,000,000 general fund budget for 2025–26 that would use the district's full 2.22% tax levy limit. The plan preserves extracurriculars and instructional programs while building a local contribution to capital projects and planning HVAC and signboard work at the high school.
Superintendent Jason Smith presented the Batavia City School District's proposed 2025'26 general fund budget Wednesday, asking the board to adopt a plan that totals about $63,000,000 and uses the district's 2.22% tax levy limit.
Smith said the proposed budget represents an approximate 5% year'over'year increase and would increase the district's tax levy to the calculated cap of 2.22%. The levy figure corresponds with a district estimate of roughly $63 million in spending and a tax levy amount just over $12,000,000. The superintendent said the tax cap formula applied this year yields a 2.22% increase and that the Consumer Price Index this year is about 2.95%.
Smith framed the budget as intended to support the district's strategic plan and to "balance the needs of our students with the needs of our community." Key drivers he cited included a projected 12% increase in health insurance rates, ongoing costs for special-education outplacements and transportation contracts, eight retirements factored into staffing projections, and the district's aim to sustain elective and extracurricular offerings.
The budget preserves a wide range of nonmandated programs Smith listed as important to school life: marching band, mock trial, arts and music instruction, social-emotional learning supports, summer school and smaller class sizes. Smith also said the district will continue some positions supported by alternative (grant) funding while building contingencies in case federal grant streams change.
On capital and facilities, Smith said the buildings and grounds team had identified replacement of several small, outdated air-conditioning units at the high school and an upgrade of the high-school front signboard to improve public communications. He said the district expects to qualify for reimbursement on capital outlay spending, and noted a historically high aid ratio for those projects (the presentation cited an 89-cent return for each dollar spent on some capital outlays).
Smith and business-office staff explained a local contribution to the capital project in order to reduce future borrowing and to stabilize the tax-cap calculation. He said that adjustment "will defer any debt or interest borrowing" and will help the district reach the 2.22% cap for this year.
Budget detail Smith cited: average class sizes around 20 students, a community'eligible provision for school lunches in 2025'26, and a general-fund increase of just over $3,000,000 budget'to'budget. He estimated the projected tax-rate impact at about $0.349 per $1,000 of assessed value and provided sample household figures in the board presentation (the district example showed an estimated increase in the range of about $69.80 for a $200,000 home; Smith cautioned these are estimates that will be refined later this summer).
Next steps: the public budget hearing was closed during the meeting and the district placed the budget on the ballot for a vote next Tuesday; the superintendent reminded voters that polling hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Robert Morris and Batavia High School and that a full budget book is available on the district website and being sent home with students.
