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Niskayuna board previews $116 million budget draft, adds staff and proposes nine-bus purchase for May vote
Summary
Board received a budget update that would add roughly 10.2 full-time equivalents and $1.2 million in new investments (within available capacity), keep tax-levy impact near 2.29%, and proposed a May bus purchase of nine diesel buses while piloting two electric buses.
The NISKAYUNA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT Board of Education on March 11 received a budget-development update that includes proposed staff additions, program investments and a bus-purchase proposition the board is expected to consider for a May vote.
Superintendent and finance staff outlined proposed new investments totaling about $1.2 million above the district—s maintenance-of-effort baseline while keeping the working draft tax-levy impact near 2.29 percent. The working draft budget total cited at the meeting was $116,000,058, with a proposed tax levy of $66,280,000 and a submitted maximum tax-cap calculation of roughly 3.58 percent.
Recommended new investments highlighted in the presentation (figures as presented to the board) include an elementary English-language-arts curriculum adoption estimated at $270,000 (materials and professional development); a full-time teacher-on-special-assignment position in each elementary building (combined estimated cost $476,000) to increase building-level support; an additional middle-school counselor for the larger middle-school population; 1.2 full-time-equivalent special-education positions at the high school to support co-teach and resource-room growth; and a $30,000 allocation described as for "distraction-free classrooms." The superintendent also proposed a part-time security director/coordinator (estimated $60,000), additional custodial coverage for the Iroquois building as it opens fully, expanded grounds maintenance and an expansion of communications support (the presentation listed roughly $52,000 for expanded communications time). The presentation said the list of additions equates to about 10.2 new FTE funded by identified capacity in the budget rather than by increasing the draft levy beyond the reported range.
The board also discussed a proposed May 2025 bus-proposition to replace aging vehicles. The purchase recommendation presented to the board would add nine diesel buses in May 2025—one 30-passenger wheelchair-accessible bus, two 36-passenger buses and six full-size 77-passenger buses—and would be financed on a five-year borrowing schedule. The district reminded the board that it is piloting two electric buses this year and that state law currently directs that buses purchased after 2027 be zero-emission and that full fleets be electrified by 2035; the superintendent said a regional electrification study is underway to identify which routes to electrify first and infrastructure needs. The district expects roughly 73 percent reimbursement from state aid on bus purchases.
The board took routine votes earlier in the meeting: it adopted the 2025-26 districtwide calendar as recommended by the superintendent and later approved the consent agenda. The meeting also recessed into an executive session for a personnel matter.
Ending: District staff said they will return to the board with a fully formed proposed budget at the March 25 meeting and noted the state budget and final guidance on several policy items could affect final numbers and any decisions on a standalone referendum.
