NEW SCOTLAND — The Voorheesville Central School District is currently looking at an approximately $800,000 budget deficit heading into the 2025-26 school year.

The district’s proposed $34.5 million spending plan includes a 6.05 percent increase in the tax levy, nearly the maximum allowed by the state, 6.4 percent, and with Voorheesville reluctant to cut personnel or programming, the school district is likely to use funds from its rainy-day account to fill the gap. 

To pierce the tax cap, which Voorheesville has never done, requires over 60 percent of voters to approve the budget rather than a simple majority.

The levy effectively has a 2.5-percent increase already built in for the next couple of decades so that the district can pay down the debt on its $25 million capital project.

“So all the programs that we’re currently offering, all the people that are currently here, we’re not looking at cutting anybody. So we’re not looking at losing a person,” Superintendent Frank Macri said during a recent school board meeting. “We’re not looking at losing a program. We’re trying to sustain the programs that we currently have.”

Voorheesville is planning to make one addition for next year, a social worker at four-tenths of full-time.

Macri explained to board members on March 3 that next year’s budget is built based on the state aid coming to the district in Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget, about $9.6 million.

“The legislature is yet to submit their runs,” Macri said, “which are typically higher and somewhere they meet in the middle, typically. So we’ll see maybe a little boost here or there,” but it wouldn’t be enough to bridge the $800,000 gap, he said. 

With Voorheesville facing a budget shortfall and still looking to raise property taxes to nearly the highest level allowable by law, Macri sought to ease the blow. 

Taking into account additional factors like the equalization and growth rates, Macri said, the 6.05-percent increase in the tax levy might not translate into a 6-percent property tax bump for residents. “There’s a lot that goes into it. I just want to be very clear for people, when you see that number, that doesn't necessarily mean that’s the number you’re going to see on your tax bill. I think that’s important to continually say.”

The budget increase, according to the district, is attributable to, among other things: 

— Employee benefits: An $891,664 increase due to retirement payments, and health insurance and prescription drug costs;

— Instruction: $517,255 more for contractual increases, special-education tuition, and a new part-time social worker; 

— General support: $390,022 more for contractual increases, BOCES expenses, and service contracts; and

— Pupil Transportation: A $213,835 increase due to purchase of new transportation software, equipment for the new bus garage, and contractual increases. 

Macri and Lissa Jilek, the district’s interim business official, broke down the district’s revenue streams, the anticipated increases, and what it means for Voorheesville. 

“The majority of the funding for the district comes from the taxpayers,” said Jilek, since 66 percent of next year’s proposed budget is funded by the levy. “The second highest revenue is state aid,” about 29 percent of the 2025-26 budget.

“State aid is increasing by over $600,000,” Jilek said, from about $9 million to approximately $9.6 million. “But that’s primarily due to the capital and building aid, transportation aid, and other expense-based aid … The increase in Foundation Aid, which is the largest aid category that the district receives, is approximately $100,000, or the minimum of 2 percent.”

Absent the expense-based aid, Macri said, the district was effectively looking at about an $111,000 increase in state aid, so “our taxpayers really are going to take the brunt of everything that we have because of the way that it’s currently working; $100,000 is not going to support our year-over-year [appropriation increase].”

When the legislature eventually comes out with its budget proposal, Macri said, the district could see some increase in Foundation Aid funding, “but I’m not guessing it’ll be over 3 or 3.5 [percent].”

Board President Rachel Gilker observed to Macri, “So maybe we get another $50,000, maybe,” to which he agreed, “and we’re short almost 800, correct?”

Gilker continued, “So we’re going to be short at least $700,000 and something.”

The answer, the board was told, would be to up the amount of rainy-day funding the district planned to use. Each year, Voorheesville uses some appropriated fund balance — this year and next, about $862,000 — to close its budget deficit. 

With the fiscal year ending on June 30, the $1.4 million that’s currently in the fund will more than likely increase, Jilek told board members. By law, school districts cannot have more than 4 percent of the next year’s budget in their inappropriate fund balance.

“It would be safe to appropriate more than the $862,000 to balance your budget,” Jilek told board members.