Byram Hills proposes $107.3 million budget; officials warn tax-rate shifts will vary by town

Byram Hills Central School District officials on March 25 presented a proposed $107,327,289 budget for the 2025–26 school year, a 3.73% increase over the current $103,464,726 budget, and said the district plans to use $1.7 million in reserves to help balance the plan.

District staff told the board that the district will seek the maximum allowable tax-levy increase of 2.43% next year and outlined why homeowners in the district's four towns can expect very different tax-rate changes even though the dollar increase in the levy is spread across the whole district.

The presentation matters because the district collects roughly 88% of its revenue from property taxes, and the state's equalization rates determine how the levy is apportioned among North Castle, Mount Pleasant, New Castle and Bedford. Board members and administrators said those statewide equalization changes caused a large shift in full value in North Castle over the past three years and a substantial drop in full value this year, moving a bigger share of the tax burden to the other towns even with the same districtwide levy.

At the hearing, Kelly Seibert (staff member) summarized the budget figures and calendar. "Our budget this year, $103,464,726 and our proposed budget for 25 26, 107327289 dollars, budget…