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TRUMANSBURG board gets detailed budget "deeper dive" as utilities and health premiums climb
Summary
At a board meeting, Business Official Amanda Burba presented a detailed expenditures review showing rising utility and health insurance costs and explaining reserves, BOCES lines and capital outlay limits as the district prepares a proposed budget to present in April.
Amanda Burba opened a "deeper dive" on district expenditures, telling the TRUMANSBURG Central School District Board that current figures remain estimates as the administration prepares a proposed budget for presentation in April. "All of these numbers are moving. They are all fluid. They are all estimates," she said, urging the board to treat the slides as work in progress.
Burba walked trustees through function codes and the district office budget, noting the board role is budgeted as volunteer service and that the staff salaries and centralized services drive much of the totals. She highlighted a large BOCES services line and explained that some apparent percentage swings reflect relatively small dollar changes within a $33 million budget.
Trustees pressed on equipment and vehicle purchases. Burba said the district created a vehicle‑replacement reserve after replacing aging trucks last year, reducing the need for large one‑time purchases from the general fund. She also identified a roughly $50,000 pending purchase to replace a fuel‑management system that has reached the end of its useful life.
Special education and related services were discussed in depth. Burba said some reductions in BOCES spending reflect students aging out of services or placements changing, not an unexpected drop in need. She also reviewed transportation issues — retirements among drivers, route analyses under way and the reserve approach to bus replacement.
On benefits, trustees heard that health insurance premiums are expected to rise considerably next year. Burba said the slide showed approximately a $700,000 increase in medical and dental costs and that the district will learn more after a health cooperative meeting with other participating districts. Board members asked whether multi‑year forecasting was available; Burba said cooperative projections had shown lower prior estimates and current expectations are higher.
Board members and administrators discussed using fund balance and reserves to smooth some employer cost increases even as they cautioned that fund balance is finite. "We are being strategic right now and utilizing the fund balance when we can," a trustee said; Burba echoed the limits of that approach while stressing the need for expenditure‑side work to close the gap.
The presentation also covered capital funding rules: New York State capital outlay projects are limited to $100,000 per year per instructional building for expedited state aid, and the board discussed which maintenance or smaller projects (flooring, doors, cameras, lighting) could fit that window.
Next steps: the administration will refine figures and post slide decks to the district website; the board will receive the formal proposed 2026–27 budget in April and voters will later see propositions including any BOCES vote. The board also noted an upcoming BOCES budget adoption date and the need for continued analysis of staffing, enrollment projections and contractual obligations before a final levy recommendation.
