Rochester board continues budget review; Oracle, transportation, special education and CTE draw questions

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester City School District Board of Education held the second round of budget deliberations on April 15, focusing on area profiles in the budget book including special education, bilingual programs, transportation, information technology, security, food services, CTE and athletics.

Board members pressed staff for clarity on several items in the proposed 2025–26 budget as the district moves to a new Oracle financial codification system. Superintendent Strickland urged commissioners to use the board question log and made finance staff available for follow-up, saying, "My whole mission is to be as transparent as possible. There's nothing to hide," about the budget process.

Why it matters: the board is reviewing a multi‑year financial plan while the district converts to Oracle and awaits final state aid figures. Several reclassifications and one‑time costs in the proposed budget — notably IT maintenance, security coding changes and shifting special‑aid accounting — will affect how expenditures are presented and tracked across departments.

Information technology and Oracle

Commissioners asked about a roughly $5 million increase tied to function code 1680, labeled Central Data Processing. Staff answered that the rise reflects ongoing Oracle implementation and associated maintenance. A budget staff member said the higher maintenance needs "will continue probably for the next couple of years just as we get on our feet." Staff said the district expects costs to remain around the current…