Parents, students and teachers urge Keystone Central board to spare Bucktail music and P.E.; board adopts $94.39 million budget, rejects staffing study

KEVIN — At its May 14 voting session, the Keystone Central School District board adopted a $94,392,165 general fund budget for 2026–27 but declined to approve a staffing-study recommendation that would have furloughed six district employees, following hours of emotional public comment from students, parents and teachers from Bucktail and Renovo.

Students and community members packed the meeting in person and online to appeal directly to trustees over proposed cuts to music and physical education. "If you vote for furloughs of Bucktail teachers, you are complicit," said McKenna Bismond, a Bucktail student who addressed the board virtually. "We need to see you putting in the effort to solve difficult situations and have the difficult conversations."

The NUT GRAF: The board’s votes split its priorities. Trustees approved the district’s proposed budget — the cover figure listed at $94,392,165 — after debate about tax options and the risk of state receivership. At the same time, they rejected the staffing study’s furlough recommendations, signaling that trustees were not ready to accept the personnel changes proposed by administration without further analysis and community input.

Public comment centered on Bucktail, a small campus that speakers said already operates on minimal staffing. Martin Lewis, a 2025 Bucktail graduate and former student government president, told the board the school has "just one full-time music teacher" who directs both middle- and high-school programs. "Removing her would likely be a death knell for the music program," Lewis said. Multiple parents argued that music and P.E. provide critical social and academic benefits that cannot easily be rebuilt once cut.

Board members expressed sharply different views during debate. Some trustees argued for aggressive spending cuts and resisted tax increases, warning that the district must demonstrate fiscal restraint to avoid a trajectory that could lead to state receivership. Others urged a measured approach — including a possible modest millage increase — to buy time for more thorough reviews and avoid hasty cuts that would damage student programs.

Chair (speaker 1) read the administration’s recommendation and opened the floor to a full roll call on the budget proposal. The board approved the proposed 2026–27 general fund budget, with a roll-call result recorded in the transcript as eight in favor and one opposed.

On the staffing study, trustees heard persistent calls from the public and from some board members for an outside or more comprehensive review rather than immediate furloughs targeted primarily at instructional staff. "Furloughing teachers is a band-aid on a bullet wound," said speaker 7, a community member who urged trustees to preserve positions that provide direct student support. After extended debate and two rounds of floor discussion, the motion to accept the staffing study as presented failed on roll call, recorded in the transcript as one yes and eight no votes.

Other business: the board appointed Joni McIntyre as board treasurer and business manager effective July 1 for a one-year term; approved bid awards for 2026–27; approved a package of action items with one item pulled for separate review; and approved PSBA membership while withholding the Keystone Agenda product for further review at the June work session.

What’s next: The board directed administration to post the budget proposal as presented with the option to return with changes in June. Trustees scheduled further finance and committee work in the coming weeks to refine spending options and to consider whether to commission an independent review of district finances and staffing.

— Sources: public comments and roll-call votes recorded in the May 14, 2026 Keystone Central School District voting-session transcript.