Schenectady board reviews preliminary $295M 2026–27 budget and May propositions
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Summary
District officials presented a first look at a preliminary $295 million 2026–27 budget, reviewed a $16.1 million unassigned fund balance and $26 million in grants, and outlined three May ballot propositions including purchase of the Clarkson building for $3.3 million and a Catalina Street warehouse for about $850,000.
District leaders presented the first review of the 2026–27 preliminary budget to the Schenectady City School District board on Jan. 14, describing the process, major revenue drivers and several capital propositions the board may place on the May budget vote.
A presenter (identified in the transcript as speaker 6) said the district typically rolls forward the prior year budget, examines three-year averages, and adjusts for projected contract and program changes. The presenter said the district's current working budget figure is about $295,000,000 and that foundation aid accounts for roughly $169,000,000 of that total. The presenter warned that final figures await New York State aid allocations.
The presenter reviewed reserves and fund balance. At the end of the prior year the district reported an unreserved fund balance of about $16,100,000 and said New York State allows roughly 4% of the following year's budget as a guideline; the presenter said the district was slightly above that threshold by approximately 1.4% (about $4,300,000) due to late audit entries and that those funds are available for the coming year.
Grant funding was highlighted: total grants were described as about $26,000,000, with a substantial share going to salaries (the presenter cited roughly $14,700,000 in grant-funded salaries). The presenter noted some grants are multi-year and that losing a grant could require program reductions or staff reallocation; the GEAR UP grant was discussed as an example that previously ended and whose services the district sought to retain where possible.
The presenter outlined three propositions the board could place on the May ballot: purchase of 80 North Terrace (the Clarkson building) for $3,300,000, purchase of a Catalina Street warehouse (about $850,000) to centralize operations and storage, and a longer-term lease for 433 State Street (to house city-campus programming). The presenter said three board seats will also be on the ballot. He said the district expects to submit levy-related paperwork to the state by March 1 and that the final budget adoption is scheduled before the May vote.
Trustees questioned how bargaining-unit negotiations (the presenter said five units are still at the table), health insurance cost projections, and potential tax-levy choices would affect the budget. The presenter said the district has not increased taxes in seven years, that a 1% levy change equals about $514,000 in revenue, and that the district budgets conservatively for vacant positions to absorb some staffing uncertainty.
No budget adoption vote occurred at the meeting; trustees asked for additional detail in subsequent budget presentations and for continued discussion of program-level academic return on investment.