School districts across New York are preparing for critical budget votes on May 20. But without hard data on state funding, districts that are facing rising costs and deficits will have to make difficult decisions.

Leaders are encouraging families to get involved and brace for potential cuts.

“Boards had to make decisions, and it’s not ideal to not know for certain what will happen,” said Robert Lowry, deputy director of the state Council of School Superintendents.

Lowry added that for the poorest school systems, the margin for error is razor-thin.

“About 25% of the districts in the state that are so small and so poor, that a 1% increase in their property tax won’t raise $100,000," explained Lowry. "And so that would not be enough to save more than one teaching position.”

According to the state Division of Budget, school districts are instructed to prepare budgets based on the 2% increase proposed by the governor. That proposal is a baseline, and districts were told it would not be less than that. The Legislature proposed increases upwards of 3%. For schools, every dollar and percentage point counts.

In the Central Square Central School District, careful planning has helped avoid crisis, but it has had hard choices.   

“We had to make decisions," said Superintendent Tom Colabufo. "Are we investing in space or are we investing in student programming? So, we closed some buildings.” 

Colabufo sees the benefits in maintaining strong academics, career training and student support.

“We offer over 26 college dual credit courses," he said, "where students don’t pay anything.

“We have counseling supports at the middle school, in the high schools, school social workers, school psychologists, a huge mental health team, because the pandemic really exacerbated a lot of those mental health issues,” Colabufo said.

But sustaining that support over the long-term may be a challenge.  

“The only way that we’re able to sustain that is that we need the support from our community and our tax base," said Colabufo. "We went two straight years without raising the tax levy at all.” 

Lowry said in some places, perceptions of waste don’t match reality.  

“And often in some of these poor districts, superintendents wear multiple hats," says Lowry. "One of the superintendents, she sometimes drives a school bus. For some of the smaller or poorer districts, the administrative staff is strained by all the demands that they have to manage.”

And with every program on the table, leaders warn that programming cuts is a direct impact to students. Colabufo said programming like sports and music lead to better attendance and grades.