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Watertown board holds public budget hearing for $112 million proposal; administrators point to rising benefits and special education costs
Summary
At a public hearing, Watertown City School District officials laid out a $112,000,000 proposed budget with a 2.55% tax‑levy increase, citing a 20% rise in health‑insurance costs, growing special‑education placements and utility and transportation expenses. Administrators plan to draw down about $17 million in unassigned fund balance to balance next year’s budget.
Watertown, N.Y. — District leaders on the Watertown City School District opened a public budget hearing to explain a $112,000,000 spending plan that would raise the district tax levy by 2.55%, the cap under state rules, and go to voters May 19.
Superintendent Dr. Larry Schmidle and administrators told the board and members of the public the bulk of the proposed increase stems from non‑discretionary costs: a roughly 20% jump in health‑insurance premiums (about $6.3 million), rising special‑education placements driven by federal mandates, higher liability and utility costs and legacy benefits tied to retirements. Salaries overall are budgeted to increase by about $800,000 to $51.9 million, with a $3.9 million reallocation into special‑education salaries to meet Individuals with…
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