Syracuse City School District presents amended $619.9 million budget after state aid increases

Syracuse City School District leaders presented an amended 2025–26 budget to the Syracuse City Education Committee, saying new state aid lifted overall revenue and reduced the district’s planned draw on unassigned reserves. The district’s proposed spending limit is $619.9 million, an increase from $611 million in the adopted budget.

The district said the state’s revised Foundation Aid formula and other changes added roughly $14 million in state aid compared with the version presented to the council earlier this year. Chief Financial Officer Francisco told the committee that higher weights for English-language learners and increased per‑pupil CTE (career and technical education) payments were major contributors. “Which gives us an additional $1,100,000 in revenue,” Francisco said of the change in the ELL weight, noting nearly 20% of district students are ELLs.

The amendments, the district said, include a $4.5 million gain from expanded CTE special‑services aid after the state raised the per‑student payment and began including ninth graders in the CTE pupil count. District staff said state data updates accounted for about $8.4 million of the change. The district also listed increases to transportation aid, McKinney‑Vento reimbursement (homeless student transportation), and a $4.6 million rise in other aid categories tied in part to charter‑school calculations.

Nut graf: Why it matters — The added state revenue lets the district reduce its planned use of unassigned fund balance by $4.5 million while funding targeted programs…