At the Tuesday, March 25 Guilderland Central School District Board of Education meeting, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marie Wiles and Assistant Superintendent for Business Dr. Andrew Van Alstyne led a budget development session about the draft 2025-26 general operating budget. This meeting was a continuation of budget development discussions, which occurred at previous board of education meetings.
As the district prepares the budget, it is navigating a complicated financial environment,where meeting the needs of our students in a time of fiscal uncertainty is at the center of budget decision making. Factors that are beyond the district’s control, such as changes in enrollment, essentially flat state aid and increased operating costs, are having a significant impact on the budget. A focus of the ongoing budget discussion is determining how to close the budget gap created by these factors.
Proposed changes recommended at the March 25 board meeting
As the budget development process continues, the following changes to the draft budget have been proposed:
- Elementary reading teacher, reduction of 0.5 FTE due to retirement of teacher and reallocation of reading FTEs based on need, savings of $89,000
- GHS business teacher, reduction of 0.2 FTE due to updates from scheduling for 2025-26, savings of $15,100
- Elimination of FMS open six-hour aide/monitor position, savings of $41,700
- Elimination of open custodial supervisor position replaced with enhanced team leader stipends, savings of $79,355
- Updated property insurance premiums, cost of $43,450
- Addition of 0.1 FTE for special education services for St. Madeleine Sophie, required by New York state law, cost of $7,600
- Restoration of approximately 70% of FTEs of first grade Teaching Assistants by creating a pool of 35 TA hours for general first grade support by eliminating 9-hour pool of unassigned TAs
- Appropriate $166,685 of fund balance
A significant part of the discussion at the March 25 meeting was about the use of fund balance and reserves to close a budget gap. In general, the district is reluctant to use fund balance to cover recurring expenses because it can create what is often referred to as a “fiscal cliff.” To compare this approach to personal spending, it is like using a credit card or dipping into savings to pay for regular, monthly household expenses. At some point, there will need to be additional revenue to cover these costs to avoid going deep into debt. Should a district rely on appropriating money from the fund balance for recurring expenses, it will drain the district’s resources and make paying for unexpected emergencies or expenses a problem. Reserves should be used for designated purposes; the fund balance for unexpected or one-time costs.
The current approach to closing the funding gap is to strike a balance between reducing expenses and drawing judiciously from the district’s savings.
The draft budget, as of March 25, 2025, is as follows:
2024-25 Expenditure Budget $125,192,817
2025-26 Expenditure Budget $127,547,002
Change ($) $2,348,080
Change (%) 1.88%
Appropriated Fund Balance $168,490
Appropriated Reserves $120,000
Maximum Allowable Levy Increase $1,832,602
Proposed Levy Increase $1,826,497
Proposed Levy Increase 2.22%
Estimated Tax Increase 1.53%
The district will adhere to the existing class size guidelines and preserve all programs, with any proposed reductions occurring through staff attrition. As budget development work continues, the aim is to strike a balance between maintaining current educational programs and introducing new services only where necessary, ensuring fiscal responsibility to the school community both now and in future academic years.
Important upcoming dates
- April 8: Board Action to Adopt the Proposed Budget
- May 8: Budget Hearing
- May 20: Budget Vote and Election
Watch the budget development discussion at the March 25, 2025 Board of Education meeting.