Carmel Central School District presents proposed 2025–26 budget that would lower tax levy by 0.1%; budget vote set for May 19
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Summary
Superintendent and finance staff presented a proposed $2025–26 budget that would reduce the district tax levy by 0.1% (about $102,150), use roughly $3.9 million in reserves and show a 3.7% overall increase; board members pressed administration on counselor caseloads, special‑education FTE coding and contingency lines.
At the April 14 meeting of the Carmel Central School District Board of Education, Assistant Superintendent Ken Silver and Superintendent Plotkin reviewed a proposed 2025–26 budget that would lower the tax levy by 0.1 percent and draw roughly $3.9 million from reserves to support operations.
Silver told the board the proposal reduces the tax levy by about $102,150 and lowers the budget increase from 3.9 percent to 3.7 percent after recent adjustments. He cited reserve planning and investment income gains, along with state aid increases, as enabling the modest tax‑rate reduction while preserving programming.
The presentation outlined several line‑item changes: removal of a $97,000 consulting/security coordinator line for Alteris (paused pending further discussion), a reduction in the repair reserve from $642,000 to $600,000, allocation for voting‑machine rental in May 2027 ($25,000), adjustments to where certain FTEs are budgeted (moving some A‑school salaries into the high‑ and middle‑school lines) and recoding of teaching assistant and special‑education monitor positions. Silver said the district corrected prior mis‑coding so staffing appears different from earlier documents even where total district staffing did not change.
Trustees pressed administration for granular data. Trustee Wise asked about guidance‑counselor caseloads; Plotkin said the district’s counselors carry caseloads that range roughly 150–230 students, and that no counselor’s caseload is currently below about 150. Trustees also questioned the middle‑school social‑work staffing (reported as 1.4 FTE) and were told that the number is unchanged from the prior year but that the principal has raised concerns about adequacy.
Silver flagged special‑education monitoring staff changes, noting some positions moved between cafeterias, hall‑monitoring, regular instruction and special‑needs monitoring to better reflect where the work occurs. He also described reductions to several contingency lines and explained that some transfers were used to rebudget cafeteria labor appropriately.
Plotkin emphasized the district’s aim to balance student needs with taxpayer concerns and said the administration will continue to refine the presentation and follow up on outstanding questions. He reminded the public that the budget vote is scheduled for May 19 and that the board intends additional community outreach, including a proposed Saturday forum and a public roadshow.
What’s next: Board members will vote on the budget at a future meeting and the public will cast ballots in the May 19 budget election. The administration said it will supply requested breakdowns (counselor caseload detail, summer‑work line explanations and the ELL per‑school counts) in follow‑up materials.
