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Saranac Lake board reviews $39.8 million draft budget, details reserves and contingency
Summary
District officials presented a $39,831,000 proposed school budget and said a $100,000 increase was added to cover summer hours and extended-school-year costs; officials also outlined a contingency budget of $38,537,000 and agreed to publish the forecast online ahead of the May vote.
An agency official for the Saranac Lake Central School District presented a proposed 2026–27 spending plan totaling $39,831,000 and described a limited set of after-the-fact changes that raised the draft by about $100,000.
The official said the increases covered summer hours for guidance staff, additional part‑time monitors and a historically underbudgeted extended‑school‑year line. "The next resolution that I have is just for the fiscal reserve plan," the official said, and later described the budget "in the amount of 39,831,000." The official added that, should a budget vote fail, the district's contingency budget would be $38,537,000 and noted that the current operating budget is about $38,100,000.
During public comment and the board discussion, resident Steve Makowski asked the district to clarify its published materials and to explain reserve figures. "It shows that there's an unassigned fund balance of almost 2,600,000.0," Makowski said, and requested that the district post the forecast and an executive summary on its website so voters can quickly see major changes before the May budget vote.
Board members pressed staff on how state aid assumptions were built into the draft. The presenting official said the estimate reflects the executive state's budget projection and a conservative approach to state aid while acknowledging the uncertainty of final enactment. "So right now, it's just an estimated state aid projection in there," the official said.
The official characterized the district's long‑term approach to reserves as a strength, noting prior periods when reserve money helped address unanticipated facility and program costs without requiring sudden tax increases. The materials discussed at the meeting showed an unassigned fund balance and the district's calculation of fund‑balance percentage; the official said the current figure reported for the year was 10.49 percent.
The board did not record a final vote on the full budget during the portion of the meeting captured in the transcript; a short, limited board meeting to vote on the BOCES budget and other abbreviated matters is scheduled for the following week, and the board advised that the budget forecast will be posted to the district website after this meeting.
Next steps: board members said they will publish the forecast and supplemental materials online and the board will hold a brief meeting next week with a required vote on certain budget items. The full budget proposition will appear on the May ballot for voter approval.
