Board reviews budget scenarios and three levy options before April adoption window

Ithaca school business officials presented the district's proposed 2026–27 budget framing on March 24, offering three levy scenarios and an online 'budget book' designed to make multi-year finances more transparent.

The presentation highlighted revenue composition (about 67–68% local property tax, roughly 24% state aid) and proposed a budget increase driven mainly by inflation, energy and contractual obligations. Using the current tax-cap calculation example at 4.18%, presenters showed a projected tax levy near $119.8 million; alternate scenarios at 3.18% and 2.18% would use varying amounts of fund balance to bridge funding gaps.

Trustees asked for sensitivity analyses and multi-year projections. One member said the district has a healthy fund balance and expressed a preference for using reserves to reduce immediate levy pressure rather than automatically adopting a cap-maxing levy. Others cautioned that dipping into fund balance reduces capacity in later years and asked to model five-year impacts on unassigned fund balance and reserve coverage.

The business official explained grant expirations (for example, literacy-related grants now moving into base operations) and how those legacy costs shift into the budget. Trustees discussed program preservation vs. potential adjustments, and requested clearer program-evaluation criteria for future decisions.

Next steps: the board discussed holding a budget-focused work session (the facilities & finance committee meeting on April 9 was proposed as a longer-format board work session) to dig into outstanding questions, then returning to vote on the proposed budget on April 14 so the district can meet statutory mailer and adoption deadlines.

The board did not adopt the budget on March 24; members will review the requested sensitivity analyses and a projected multi-year fund-balance model in advance of the April meetings.