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Finance chief warns district faces multi-year deficits; BFSA seeks revised four-year plan
Summary
District finance staff told the board the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority expressed concern about city and district fiscal projections; the district projects roughly a $60 million deficit next year, must submit a revised four-year plan, and is preparing an RFP for consultant support on potential school-closing options.
The Buffalo City School District s finance team told the board that the district projects a roughly $60 million general-fund deficit for the coming year and that the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority (BFSA) has pressed the city and district for plans to address projected shortfalls.
Chief Barnes summarized a recent BFSA meeting and said the BFSA raised concerns about the city s fiscal outlook and the district s cumulative deficits. "They verified the accounting of our six-month results and they concurred with our projected deficit of $60 million," Barnes told the board, adding the district had better-than-expected current-year results but is facing structural pressures, including charter tuition and benefit costs.
Barnes said the BFSA has asked for a revised four-year plan that addresses projected deficits and mandated reserve ratios; the district must submit that plan in mid-April. He said the superintendent and finance team are pursuing a combination of measures to reduce the budget gap: targeted central-office cuts and vacancy reductions, school-based classroom consolidation (reducing some classrooms and adding others for special-education demand), vendor-contract reviews, potential adjustments to after-school and summer programming, and negotiating contract settlement estimates with labor partners.
Barnes said the district is preparing an RFP for an external consultant to support any school-closing analysis; the board may receive a letter from BFSA requesting updates on closing plans as part of its deficit-reduction review. He cautioned that the district s deficit projections depend on many assumptions (state aid, settlement costs, transportation increases) and said the superintendent is balancing those assumptions as budget decisions unfold.
No board votes were taken. Finance staff said more detailed, school-level budget reports will be available after school-based budget submissions and once state aid figures are finalized in April.
