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Fredonia Central School District trims proposed 2026–27 spending increase to 7.41% and sets vote timeline
Summary
District staff presented a revised 2026–27 draft that reduces the proposed spending increase from 8.75% to 7.41%, identified remaining uncertainties in final state aid and special-education costs, and the board approved a legal notice and clerk authority to amend notices if figures change before the budget vote.
A staff member leading the district’s financial presentation told the Fredonia Central School District Board of Education on March 24 that revisions to the draft 2026–27 budget have reduced the proposed spending increase from 8.75% to about 7.41%.
The presenter said several final numbers remain uncertain, including final equalization and assessment figures, the legislature’s final state aid allocation (typically due April 1), and ongoing special-education placement costs. The draft shows salaries at about 48.2% of spending and benefits at about 20.04% (roughly 68% combined), leaving a constrained set of budget areas that can be adjusted without cutting programs.
Board members heard that some reductions came from recategorizing instructional salaries into categorical grants (Title I, II, IV and Sections 611/619) and by trimming general support areas such as district office, business office and custodial budgets. The presenter called out specific pressures: an approximately $297,000 increase in an occupational-education/PEK line tied to additional student slots and roughly $325,000 in BOCES-related special-education costs that remain under review.
The revenue picture in the draft shows state aid at about 49.07% of the budget and the local tax levy at about 47.63%. The staff member explained that as total spending is adjusted downward, the state-aid percentage will likely rise and the local tax levy percentage will decline. The draft tax levy limit for the year was calculated at 2.44%; the presenter also noted the administrative cap that applies if a budget is defeated twice (11.5 percent) and that the district was approximately $149,000 under that cap in the current draft.
The board approved, by motion, a legal notice for the upcoming annual budget vote and separately authorized the district clerk to make necessary amendments to that legal notice with the board’s approval should the state figures change before publication. The board discussed scheduling an additional budget meeting the week of April 20 to allow final state aid numbers to arrive; the district has a budget hearing scheduled for May 5 and a budget vote set for the third Tuesday in May.
What happens next: district staff expect to bring updated state-aid estimates and any final adjustments to the board at the April meetings; if the state numbers change materially, the clerk has the board-approved authority to revise the legal notice and publish the updated information without calling an emergency meeting.
Sources: presentation and discussion at the March 24 Fredonia Central School District Board of Education meeting. The board voted to approve the legal notice and authorized the district clerk to make amendments as needed.
