Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Port Jervis school budget proposes 2% tax increase as special-education costs drive $2.3 million rise
Summary
The Port Jervis City School District presented a proposed 2026–27 budget that includes a roughly $2.3 million programmatic increase driven largely by special-education costs and a recommended 2% tax cap override; final figures remain subject to state aid estimates and the budget will go to voters May 19.
Port Jervis City School District officials on May 6 opened a public budget hearing for a proposed 2026–27 spending plan that calls for a modest tax increase and larger programmatic costs largely tied to special education.
"Everything above that is revenue and our budget is our expenses 106250," said Mr. John Tim, the district’s assistant superintendent for business, during his presentation. He said the proposed budget includes a highlighted 2% tax increase and that a 1% rise in foundation aid would change the district’s state-aid line by about $483,772.
Tim told the board the district is preparing the budget with incomplete state-aid information — "we are running . . . with limited information" — and is using extended estimates while awaiting final state figures. He said administrative costs increased about $212,000 and the capital component rose about $193,000, but most of the increase is in the program budget.
"The majority of that increase [is] coming out of that program one which we highlighted special ed," Tim said, reporting roughly a $2.3 million increase in special-education spending tied to outplacements and transportation.
Tim outlined the contingency path if voters reject the budget twice: the board could enact a contingency budget limited to teacher salaries and ordinary contingent expenses, which would reduce the proposed total by about $581,680. He encouraged voters to contact district staff with questions — Bonnie Whitney for vote logistics and Tim for budget questions.
A board member who spoke during the hearing placed the proposed increase in long-run context: Social Security cost-of-living adjustments and the consumer price index have risen substantially in the last decade, and the district’s cumulative tax increases over 10 years total well under the theoretical tax-cap capacity, the member said.
The board closed the public portion of the hearing after a brief procedural question about absentee ballots. The proposed budget will be decided by voters in the district’s May 19 election from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the usual polling sites.
