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Middletown board adopts $283.7 million 2026–27 budget, places 1.99% tax-levy increase on May 19 ballot
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Summary
The Middletown City School District board voted to adopt a $283,735,894 budget for 2026–27 and to place a 1.99% tax-levy increase on the May 19 budget ballot; board members praised staff work under state budget uncertainty and discussed a possible future study on senior tax relief.
The Middletown City School District board voted to adopt a $283,735,894 district budget for the 2026–27 school year and to place a 1.99% tax-levy increase on the May 19, 2026 ballot as Proposition 1. President Romero called for the motion, the board discussed the levy and the district’s fiscal context, and members passed the motion by voice vote.
Board members and administrators framed the budget as one produced amid state-level uncertainty; one board member congratulated “Dr. Connell” on compiling what he called “a good budget” despite another state budget extender and incomplete state funding. The board emphasized that the proposed 1.99% levy is below the district’s legal cap as calculated under state rules.
Several members urged follow-up work: one suggested studying a senior tax-relief option for residents 65 and older who have paid school taxes for decades; another proposed drafting a resolution to seek support from regional school boards associations to carry the issue to Albany. The motion to adopt the budget included placing the proposal on the May 19 ballot for voter approval.
In related business the board cast its vote to approve the Orange-Ulster BOCES 2026–27 administrative budget as listed in meeting materials (the packet showed a figure of $10,134,243) and authorized the district clerk to certify the vote and transmit the paperwork to Orange-Ulster BOCES.
The board’s action was procedural and final for the district’s internal approval process; the budget and levy increase will become effective only if approved by voters at the May 19 budget vote. The meeting did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript; all motions reported passed by voice vote with the lone noted abstention on a separate vote by a member who said they served on the BOCES board.
What’s next: the district will present the proposed budget to voters on the May 19 ballot. Public materials and the district’s tax-report card were discussed and will remain available on the district website for review.
