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Budget session focuses on expenditures: salaries, benefits and a $1.4M–$1.8M budget gap
Summary
The district's budget session highlighted rising costs (salaries +$820,000; benefits +$500,000; debt payments +$1.6M) and presented options — cuts, reserves or levy increases — to close a remaining gap between $1.4M and $1.8M depending on levy decisions.
At budget session #3, Mrs. May reviewed the expenditure side of the district’s proposed 2025–26 budget, detailing key drivers of increased costs and the options available to close the remaining budget gap.
She reported that “salaries increasing by about 820,000,” driven by contractual obligations, and that benefits will rise “about 500,000,” with health‑insurance premiums estimated to increase “7.89% for next school year, which is about 325,000.” Mrs. May said deferred building aid will push debt payments higher and estimated an increase in debt payments next year of “about 1,600,000.”
Mrs. May summarized other expenditure changes: a small decrease in equipment lines, an estimated $40,000 rise in materials and supplies due to inflation, a $25,000 rise in tuition payments for out‑of‑district special‑education placements, and a reduction of roughly $90,000–$100,000 in BOCES expenditures because the district has hired an in‑house payroll clerk and is phasing out some BOCES services.
Combining the expenditure and revenue outlooks, staff presented scenarios showing a budget gap of roughly $1.8 million if the levy is not raised and about $1.4 million if the district raises the levy to the calculated cap; board options include cutting expenditures, increasing reserve usage, or some combination of both. Board members were advised to weigh reserve use carefully because once reserves are spent they are not available for future years.
