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Arlington finance team outlines operations, transportation budgets and capital priorities, including $3.26M vehicle proposition and potential tennis-court/drive
Summary
The district presented the operations and maintenance and transportation budget outlook, discussed capital projects including a $3.261M vehicle proposition (buses, maintenance equipment), roof work, generator replacement and tennis‑court relocation tied to a redesign of pick‑up/drop‑off at RS May.
Arlington Central School District finance and operations staff presented the operations and maintenance and transportation portions of the draft 2025–26 budget and outlined near‑term capital priorities at the board meeting.
Kevin Sheldon, business official, said the operations and maintenance budget (functions 1620/1621) is proposed up 2.75% — approximately $383,000 — primarily for salaries and inflationary increases in materials and supplies. Transportation spending is proposed up about 1.24% (roughly $173,000), driven by insurance and salary increases, including changes to driver compensation after recruitment challenges in recent years. Sheldon explained transportation aid lags by a year and that increased expenditures are expected to be followed by higher aid receipts in subsequent budget cycles.
On capital priorities, staff outlined an anticipated proposition for vehicles (buses and maintenance equipment) totaling $3,261,000. Sheldon said the district has continued to transition away from diesel toward propane and is monitoring state conversations about electric buses and other alternative fuels. The capital agenda also includes continued roofing work (carried over from prior approvals), a proposed larger generator for a major building to avoid losing operational time in outages, and improvements at RS May: new tennis courts, driveway reconfiguration to improve pick‑up/drop‑off flow and repurposing existing courts for staff/transportation parking. Sheldon said the district must replace tennis courts “in kind” because of a prior federal grant and anticipated the courts to remain community‑accessible after relocation.
Board members asked for clarifications on several items: the scale of the operations bars in budget slides, the district’s assumptions on energy costs, and whether first‑year costs for programs such as Winner’s Circle would be offset by BOCES aid and auction proceeds. Sheldon said first‑year capital or program costs can be the highest and that BOCES aid (up to about 40% on qualifying projects) and subsequent auction/revenue could significantly offset the outlay. The board did not take final votes on budget totals at the meeting; staff said follow‑up budget presentations and more detailed proposals will be provided as information becomes available.
