District addresses deficit; proposed budget preserves programs and is within tax levy limit
District Priorities | Planning | Challenges | Recommendations | Summary
On Tuesday, March 4, Guilderland Central School District Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marie Wiles and Assistant Superintendent for Business Dr. Andrew Van Alstyne presented the draft budget for the 2025-26 school year to the Board of Education and Guilderland community. On Tuesday, March 11, the board and community had the opportunity to ask questions at the Budget Q&A meeting. At this meeting, additional recommendations for the 2025-26 budget were presented.
The draft of the district’s proposed 2025-26 spending plan provides an overview of the district’s priorities, financial context for the budget development process, a summary of the recommended changes for the following school year and next steps in the budget development process. The board will reconvene on Tuesday, March 25, for the Budget Development Workshop.
This year, the district is navigating a complicated financial environment, where both uncertainty and necessity are considerations in decision-making. Changes in enrollment, essentially flat state aid and increased operating costs are factors that are having a significant impact on the budget.
The proposed budget plan aims to strike a balance between maintaining existing educational programs and introducing new services only where necessary. The district will continue to follow existing class size guidelines and preserve all programs. Proposed reductions are a result of declining enrollment and/or staff attrition.
Highlights of the 2025-26 draft budget presentation
District priorities, mission and vision
Dr. Wiles opened the March 4 presentation by reviewing the key questions the district aims to address in its spending plan which include: What are the district’s priorities? What do our students need? and what can be afforded now and sustained over time? These questions help guide the 2025-26 budget development process.
“We always begin with our mission,” said Dr. Wiles. Inspiring all students to be active life-long learners to achieve their highest potential, is at the heart of everything the district does. During budget development, administrators take into account the individual and unique needs of each and every child. GCSD strives to meet students’ current needs, provide a safe and welcoming environment for all, while also looking forward and thinking of the future, as is determined in the district’s vision statement.
Budget planning
The budget development process begins in the fall by reassessing and adjusting the decisions made the previous spring. This process includes a detailed analysis of students’ academic, social and emotional needs. Additional budget considerations include the robust and varied learning opportunities offered both inside and outside of the classroom, non-instructional costs, such as facilities maintenance and transportation, and enrollment data, which is the foundation of budget development work.
What the proposed 2025-26 budget does
- Maintains class size guidelines
- Preserves existing programs and services for students
- Preserves social and emotional supports
- Proposes necessary reductions that, whenever possible, have limited impact on students
- Proposes staff reductions that are, whenever possible, absorbed through attrition
- Includes only additions that are absolutely necessary
- Reflects increased costs in areas outside of the district’s control, including health insurance costs and tax certiorari refunds
The 2025-26 proposed spending plan does not exceed the tax levy limit and requires only a simple majority of voter approval.
Challenges in the 2025-26 budget development
The proposed budget for the 2025-26 school year reflects a number of factors largely out of the district’s control. Dr. Wiles and Dr. Van Alstyne outlined the unique challenges facing GCSD.
Student enrollment. Enrollment data is where budget development work begins. District leaders need to know how many students they will be serving and where those students are in the school system. Due to declining birth rates, the district is seeing fewer students entering school. While the overall district enrollment decrease is modest—projecting a loss of only eight students—enrollment in the primary grades is declining sharply. If this trend continues, it can have a significant impact on future state aid levels which are based in large part on student enrollment. It’s crucial for the district to monitor enrollment closely and right-size staff accordingly.
With declining enrollment at the elementary level, the choices GCSD makes today will have a significant impact on the future. If not addressed now, the budgetary challenges the district is facing will only intensify in the future.
Tax levy cap. Each year, the majority of the district’s revenue comes from the tax levy. In New York State, the tax levy is subject to a tax cap that is calculated using an eight-step formula determined by the state. The formula limits the increase in the vast majority of expenses to 2%, based on the consumer price index for 2025-26. The result of the formula determines the amount that the levy can increase and still be approved by voters by a simple majority.
State aid. While the district anticipates an increase in Foundation Aid year-over-year, there are expected significant declines in building aid and transportation aid. This is due to the district reducing its use of contractors for out-of-district transportation, as transportation aid is based on actual eligible spending.
Cost drivers. There are several factors beyond the district’s control that contribute to the year-over-year budget increase, including employee retirement service contributions, social security, employee benefits and health insurance. The district’s health insurance costs are expected to increase $2.3 million, which is an 11.3% increase, largely due to rising prescription drug costs. The steep increase in health insurance costs alone exceeds the entire amount the district can levy under the tax levy cap.The district has never before encountered such a financial situation.
Capital debt. The district is poised to see a $1.25 million reduction in debt service payments, from capital construction and bus purchases, which corresponds to the $1.5 million decrease in building aid.
The district is also facing a significant increase in bond payments needed to pay tax certiorari claims. Although the cases are now closed and resolved, the district will continue to pay them for years to come. The increase in payments for 2025-2026 is $347,000. Between 2020-21 and 2022-23, GCSD paid $5.7 million in property tax refunds as a result of these claims. Last year, the district issued a bond to settle a $4.75 million outstanding claim to Crossgates Mall. Borrowing allowed the district to spread out the cost, as paying the claim in a single budget would devastate programming for students.
Recommended Changes
The changes recommended for the 2025-26 school year spending plan include a small number of items added to the budget to meet the needs of students, as well as several reductions that are driven primarily by changes in enrollment. The district is making as many of these staff reductions through attrition when existing staff retire or resign.
Elementary Level
Due to declining elementary enrollment, the district proposes:
- Reducing 6 sections across the district
- Reducing the number of unassigned full-time equivalents (FTEs) from 4 to 3. (Unassigned FTEs address changes in enrollment that happen after the budget development process is complete.)
The New York State Department of Education does not provide school districts with class size standards; however, GCSD has long-standing elementary class size guidelines of 18-22 students for grades K-2 and 21-25 students for grades 3-5. The proposed section reductions result in class sizes that are within the district’s guidelines. The overall average class size for 2025-2026 based on the draft proposal is 20.9.
Additional proposed changes:
- AES Librarian, reduction of 0.2 FTE, savings of $15,200. As of Mar. 14, this position has been restored.
- Elementary Art, reduction of 0.1 FTE across district, savings of $7,600
- Elementary Music, reduction of 0.2 FTE across district, savings of $15,200
- Physical Education, reduction of 0.5 FTE across district, savings of $46,100
- First grade Teaching Assistants, 48 hours (eight TAs retiring June 2025), savings of $365,600
- Reading PBES, reduction of 1.0 FTE to be redeployed to GES and FMS
Middle School Level
Given the number of students entering grades six, seven and eight, the district can maintain 16 homerooms per grade, which was established a few years ago to reduce class size at the middle level.
Proposed changes:
- Account Clerk, reduction of 0.5 FTE, savings of $14,678
- Reading Support, addition of 0.5 FTE, cost neutral (re-deployed FTE)
Staffing/Service Recommendations
Among the following recommendations are some that reflect the needs of special education students who will be entering the district next year.
- 1:1 LPN, addition of 1.0 FTE, cost of $30,000
- Elementary Special Education teachers, addition of 2.0 FTEs, one at GES and one at WES, to expand the continuum of service for primary students with significant needs, cost $184,400
- Teaching Assistants, addition of 24 hours FTEs, cost $184,400
- School Psychologist/Behavioral Specialist, addition of 0.6 FTE to make an existing 0.4 FTE position full time, cost $62,100
- Middle School Special Education, 1.0 FTE, cost of $92,000
- Special Education tuition reductions, savings of $200,000
- Administrative reorganization: Instructional Administrator for Fine Arts, reduction of 1.0 FTE, savings of $115,140
- Teacher Leader Stipend for Music, cost of $2,800
- Teacher Leader Stipend for Art, cost of $2,800
- Athletics officials, increased cost of $4,976
- Reduction in materials and equipment across all levels, savings of $29,675
- Software reductions, savings of $39,875
- Reorganization of computer tech support by converting one computer tech position to lead computer technician position, cost neutral: $15,000 cost offset by reduction in contractual services
- Technology purchases through installment agreement with BOCES, cost of $259,875
- Replace wireless access points and network switches, cost of $125,000
Additional Recommendations
- Reduction of contract transportation services, savings of $2,380,873
- Additional bus driver salaries, varying FTEs, cost of $200,000
- Waste removal increase, cost of $51,000
- Removing carpet in PBES reading room as well window replacements, as needed districtwide, cost of $200,000
- Shift $40,000 previously budgeted for leading testing, which is now complete, to AED replacement
Changes proposed at March 11 board meeting
At the March 11 meeting, Dr. Wiles and Dr. Van Alstyne presented four additional options to close the deficit gap:
- Reallocate open GHS Special Education teacher position to FMS, reduction of 1.0 FTE, savings of $92,200. Vacant since Sept. 2024 due to a resignation, the district has been unable to fill this position.
- Elimination of open Auto Mechanic position, reduction of 1.0 FTE, savings of $89,000. Vacant for more than two years, the district has been unable to fill this position.
- Use of educational contribution fund for portion of technology purchase, additional revenue of $100,000. This revenue is a result of pilot agreements with solar companies who have arrays within the GCSD catchment area. As part of these agreements, the district is eligible to receive a payment that is to be used for one-time expenses. The proposal is to apply $100,000 to the installment purchase agreement for technology, to offset those costs.
- Appropriated Fund Balance/additional reductions to close remaining $168,100 of deficit.
In Summary
The proposed 2025-26 general operating budget aims to address the difficult decisions necessary to achieve a balanced budget. It outlines reductions in teaching positions, TA positions, an administrative role and some non-instructional support. Almost all of these reductions can be absorbed through staff attrition to minimize the impact on existing employees. While these cuts are not ideal, they are necessary to ensure fiscal responsibility, now and for the future.
- The proposed 2025-26 budget:
- Maintains class sizes
- Maintains programs and services to support students
- Includes enrollment driven reductions using attrition whenever possible
- Adds programs and services that are deemed necessary
- Addresses increased costs that are out of the district control such as health insurance increase and large tax refunds
- Uses additional fund balance/reserve to balance budget
- Recognizes that there are some unknowns that will affect operations and the budget
- Adoption of state budget
- Potential changes to federal funding
Important upcoming dates
- March 25: Board of Education Budget Work Session
- April 8: Board Action to Adopt the Proposed Budget
- May 8: Budget Hearing
- May 20: Budget Vote and Election
Watch the Superintendent Draft Budget presentation at the March 4, 2025 Board of Education meeting.
Watch the Budget Q&A at the March 11, 2025 Board of Education meeting.