NISKAYUNA — The proposed $110.7 million Niskayuna Central School District 2024-2025 budget includes a 2% tax increase while funding the addition of 17 new staff positions.
The Niskayuna school board is slated to vote on the budget proposal during its April 16 meeting, with taxpayers set to cast their ballots on the spending plan on May 21.
The district is also presenting a $1.8 million proposition to purchase eight new buses for the district fleet and a proposal to establish a new capital reserve fund for the district on the May ballot.
If residents approve the reserve fund, the district would be allowed to contribute up to $25 million over the next decade for the reserve to fund capital repairs in the district.
The proposed $110.7 million spending plan represents a 2.75% spending increase over last year’s $107.8 million budget, with the 2% tax levy increase slightly below the district’s 2.08% tax cap.
The approved 2023-2024 budget featured a 2.34% tax levy increase.
The proposed budget maintains current staffing levels and all student programming, while adding new alternative education programming at Niskayuna High School and continuing the expansion of the district’s special education program.
“I think it’s a budget proposal that does both very well,” Superintendent Carl Mummenthey said. “We’ve built it with sustainability in mind and that means maintaining the people and programs that our new community has come to expect. We’re also making some strategic investments in areas that we think will accelerate our growth and achievement as a district.”
Niskayuna is projected to receive $38.6 million in state and federal aid in 2024-2025, an $801,351 increase over the prior year.
The district has weighed the possibility of adopting a proposed budget with a 1.5% or 1.75% tax levy increase if it receives additional state aid. The state Legislature is projected to pass a budget by the end of this week.
The school district's proposed spending plan includes the use of $2.5 million in fund balance, a decrease from the $3.4 million utilized last year to balance the budget.
“That’s a stable investment of fund balance and we feel that the board and the community have been very supportive in establishing the right reserves at the right levels to maintain a really strong financial plan for the district,” Mummenthey said.
The proposed budget includes funding for 17.5 additional full-time staff positions — with five new positions to be added for the high school’s new alternative education programming.
“We’ve had discussions over the last couple of years about developing alternative education programming at the high school, which is really making sure that we have as many pathways as possible to support students for their academic program and needs for graduation,” Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Matt Leon said. “We’ve identified the need to have additional support and to have different settings where students can get the academic, social and emotional support and counseling support that they need to stay on track for graduation and be ready for what comes next after that.”
The budget proposal would fund the establishment of a new elementary school math intervention model that would add two new teaching positions to the department. The proposed plan also adds seven full-time staff positions to bolster the district’s special education department.
“Another major area of investment is continuing to expand our special education programs for students,” Leon said. “It’s really important to us that we’re able to meet students’ needs in the district to the greatest extent possible.”
The proposed budget includes funding to purchase new playground equipment in the district and for the establishment of a Unified bocce team next fall.
Residents approved a $47 million capital project in February that funded renovations to Van Antwerp Middle School, the high school and the district's five elementary schools.
Leon said the proposed 2024-2025 budget would include additional infrastructure funding for items that staff can upgrade in-house.
Last summer, the district conducted in-house renovations to the high school football stadium’s press box roof and upgraded flooring and lighting in elementary school libraries across the district.
“Side-by-side with the capital project — through the operating budget — we’re making some important facilities investments and improvements where we can,” Leon said.
The 2023-2024 district budget received over 70% support from local taxpayers, with Mummenthey noting that the district has incorporated community feedback into the budget planning process.
“We engaged many members of our community in helping us establish budget priorities through an online Thought Exchange,” he said. “At each stage of our budget development, we aligned our strategies and community-wide priorities. We’ve worked very, very hard to earn the community’s trust when it comes to financial matters and we’ll continue to do so.”