Monroe-Woodbury presents $236.7 million budget, $16.6 million capital proposition including classroom air conditioning

Superintendent Tracy Norman presented the Monroe-Woodbury Central School District's recommended 2025-26 budget Wednesday, proposing a $236,700,000 general fund budget and a 1.5% tax levy increase.

Norman said the district's recommended levy is well below the state tax cap for the year, which the presentation identified as 3.55%. "The tax levy that we are proposing is 1.5%, which is well below the maximum," Norman said, and the presentation attributed the lower levy largely to an increase in state aid from approximately $88 million to about $94 million.

The recommendation includes Proposition 2, a separate capital authorization of up to $16,600,000 to complement an existing $98,000,000 capital program. District business staff said the plan would use $5,300,000 from the district's capital reserve and borrow the remaining $11,300,000; staff said debt service repayment is expected to be offset by building aid over roughly 15 years so the work would have "no tax impact." The capital work described in the presentation would add air conditioning to classrooms at Pine Tree, North Main and Central Valley elementary schools and install walls and doors to enclose open-plan classrooms at North Main.

Why it matters: The budget sets the district's spending and local tax impact and the capital proposition would fund building changes tied to safety, instructional needs and a new state requirement on classroom temperature.

Details and context

Ira Silkler, who presented the budget numbers, summarized the key totals: a $236.7 million general fund (a 5.88% budget-to-budget increase in the presentation), a proposed tax levy of $133.3 million (1.5% increase), and non-property revenues of roughly $99.5 million. Silkler described proposed uses of district reserves including the employee benefit accrued liability reserve and unemployment reserve; the presentation listed a planned appropriation from the assigned fund balance of $1,425,000 to reduce next year's levy.

On the capital side, Silkler and the superintendent said planned work includes electrical upgrades and a mix of short-, medium- and long-term solutions to meet cooling needs in some older school buildings. Norman told the board the district is developing short-term cooling plans and a longer-term plan tied to Proposition 2 work.

Norman also referenced a recently enacted state "heat index" requirement that the district must address. The presentation said the law, effective Sept. 1, 2025, requires action when certain nonstructural classroom temperatures reach 88 degrees: "when classrooms . . . hit 88 degrees, the mandate is that you can't occupy the space anymore," the superintendent said, adding the district will have short-term measures in place and longer-term capital planning to comply.

What the board did and next steps

The presentation was informational; no formal board vote on the budget recommendation or the propositions was recorded in the public portion of the meeting. District presenters encouraged public participation in upcoming budget votes and listed forthcoming budget dates.

Clarifying details

- Proposed general fund budget: $236,700,000 (presentation figure). - Proposed tax levy: $133,300,000 (1.5%). - Proposed budget-to-budget increase: 5.88% (presentation figure). - State aid: presentation compared roughly $88,000,000 (prior year) to about $94,000,000 (projected). - Proposed use of reserves: $2,470,000 (various reserves named in the presentation) plus assigned fund balance of $1,425,000. - Proposition 2 authorization: up to $16,600,000; $5,300,000 from capital reserve; borrow $11,300,000; plan engineered to have "no tax impact" based on projected building aid over ~15 years. - Schools named for air conditioning work: Pine Tree, North Main, Central Valley elementary schools.

Meeting context

The budget presentation and related capital details comprised the main substantive agenda item of the public meeting. Board members and district staff discussed compliance planning for the state heat-index requirement and short-, medium- and long-term cooling solutions. Presenters invited community participation in upcoming budget-related outreach and votes.

Sources and evidence

'Tracy Norman, superintendent' presentation of budget recommendation; Ira Silkler, business presenter, summary of budget totals and capital proposition. The public presentation included slides summarizing tax-cap calculation, revenue composition, reserve use and capital scope.

Ending

District staff said additional public information and outreach will continue in the coming weeks ahead of the budget vote and that more detailed descriptions of the Proposition 2 projects and timelines will be provided to families and posted on the district website.