Scotia-Glenville board adopts $67.0 million budget that exceeds tax cap, restores school safety officers and some staff

Scotia-Glenville Central School District trustees voted Tuesday to send a $67,000,128.28 budget to district voters, a plan that exceeds New York State's tax levy limit and therefore must win a 60% yes vote to be adopted.

Superintendent Susan Schwartz and district business staff presented two scenarios at the board's final budget work session: the superintendent's recommended budget, described as staying at the tax levy limit of 3.25 percent, and an override scenario that would raise the levy by 5.09 percent. The board voted to advance the higher, override plan as Proposition 2.

The override plan adds funding to fully restore two school resource officers (SROs), add two elementary reading positions and an elementary librarian, and recognizes about $130,000 in additional aid the district expects. District staff said the override scenario would produce a 3.44 percent tax-rate increase (presented as a 5.09 percent levy increase) and a 2.75 percent spending increase for 2025-26; the superintendent's recommended scenario showed a 2.19 percent spending increase and a lower tax-rate change when presented earlier.

Board members and staff framed the vote as a choice between minimizing near-term taxpayer growth and preserving staff and student services that they said would be difficult to restore later. Superintendent Schwartz summarized the meeting goals as, "debunk[ing] the latest myths," answering board questions and asking the board to "adopt the spending limit this evening either at or above the tax levy limit of 3.25%."

Why this matters: district presenters said the override closes gaps that would otherwise reduce library services, reading interventions and school safety coverage. Staff warned that using reserves and one-time revenues to reduce the levy now would leave the district with a thin fund balance going into 2026-27 and that next year's budget risks would be larger.

Details and staff analysis - Staffing changes: district leaders described 24 reductions discussed during the budget…