Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District financial officer presents long‑range plan, warns of projected deficits after 2027–28
Summary
Business staff presented projections that keep the district compliant with the 4% unassigned fund balance cap this year but show increasing deficits beginning in 2027–28 under current assumptions; the plan assumes 2% annual tax-levy increases and modest state aid growth.
The Batavia City School District's business office presented a long‑range financial plan to the board outlining revenue and expenditure projections through 2029–30 and the assumptions that drive them.
Mr. Lang, the district business officer, described the plan as a planning tool that models revenue (primarily state aid and the tax levy) and expenditures over multiple years. He said the plan uses conservative assumptions—"state aid, we're projecting steady increases... just around 2%"—and a projected 2% annual tax‑levy increase for modeling stability.
Mr. Lang reported the district remained compliant with Real Property Tax Law §1318 this fiscal year: the unassigned fund balance at year‑end was $2,532,406, which he said equals 4% of the current year's budget ($63,310,108). He recalled that the district appropriated $3.6 million of fund balance in 2024 to fill a budget gap and said auditors raised concerns about large appropriations because they can create reliance on reserves.
Projected expense assumptions include pending collective bargaining settlements, ongoing preschool program shortfalls (budgeted into the general fund), and higher health‑insurance claims that are expected to increase the district's costs. Under the slide deck Mr. Lang described, the plan shows slight surpluses in the near term but growing deficits by 2027–28 under current assumptions; he said the finance team will use the plan to inform staffing and program decisions during the budget development process.
On reserves and compliance, Mr. Lang explained the district's restricted and assigned reserves and said the plan recommends allocating surpluses to restricted reserves as appropriate so the unassigned fund balance does not exceed the statutory 4% limit. He told the board that, "you can exceed 4%... although it is, in violation of real property tax law," but added there is no mechanism to strip the funds away; instead the audit will note the violation and the board typically reallocates funds to restricted reserves.
Board members asked whether projected deficits might force programmatic decisions—Mr. Lang said the budget development process could include staffing and programmatic conversations, including whether to continue district‑funded preschool if shortfalls persist.
The business office said it will update the long‑range plan annually and provide state aid runs and other data as the budget process proceeds.
