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District holds required budget hearing; proposes 2.12% levy increase and $61.25 million budget
Summary
Administrators presented the required budget hearing, proposing a 2.12% tax-levy increase within the cap and a balanced general fund budget of roughly $61.25 million; they outlined revenue uncertainty tied to the state budget, a $100,000 reimbursable allowable project for middle-school floors and a vehicle-replacement proposition capped at $866,774.
The IROQUOIS CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT held its required budget hearing ahead of next week’s budget vote, presenting a balanced general fund budget and the propositions that voters will decide.
Administration said the proposed tax levy increase is 2.12 percent, within the allowable cap, and that the general fund budget figure presented to the public is $61,248,130. Officials emphasized uncertainty about the final state aid numbers, noting competing legislative proposals for foundation aid increases of 1 percent (executive) and 2 percent (legislature) and saying the district built contingencies into the budget.
“Our levy increase is 2.12 percent; we are not choosing to exceed that,” administration said, noting the district’s approach is to plan conservatively so taxpayers do not face abrupt impacts.
The hearing highlighted a $100,000 allowable project (classroom tile replacement at the middle school) that would be reimbursed at the district’s building-aid rate (presented as about 71 percent) and scheduled for summer 2027. Administration also described Proposition 2, a not-to-exceed $866,774 authorization for vehicle and bus replacement—three full-size buses, one with a wheelchair lift, and a 30-passenger cutaway—saying trade-ins typically reduce the actual amount borrowed.
Administrators told the board that building aid as presented in the budget appears to drop by about $340,000 largely because prior bond-related aid trails off while corresponding debt service falls by roughly $380,000.
Board members and staff discussed local and regional implications of state budget uncertainty, the differences in aid dependency across districts and the district’s efforts to maintain below-inflation budget increases in recent years. The administration reminded the public that the budget notice and a six-day mailer have been or will be delivered to qualified voters, and that next Tuesday the district will hold a public vote from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the intermediate gym.
No formal vote on the budget occurs at the hearing; the public hearing is a procedural requirement to inform voters before the scheduled ballot next week.
