Last week Highland’s Business Administrator, Lindsay Eidel, gave a presentation to the school board on State Aid and Revenues for a projected $53.9 million budget for the 2024-25 school year.  

 

Eidel said Foundation Aid will be reduced by $79,699 from this year’s amount of $12,650,065 to $12,570,366 for next year. She said this was due in part to the district having purchased some things with federal grants rather than taking it from the General Fund where it would have been reimbursed. In addition, aid is also down in other categories; Hardware & Technology by $1,398; Software, Library and Textbooks by $699 and Building Aid by $126,125. There are some increases, however. Most notably, BOCES aid is up by $71,533 to $1,549,481, High Cost Excess is up by $238,445 to $626,950 and Transportation Aid has been increased by $13,828 to $1,598,365.

 

Eidel presented a slide highlighting the district’s Draft Budget Revenues. NYS Aid (budgeted) is up by $185,864 to $18,747,133 but is dependent on what the state passes in their budget.

 

“What we do hope is that the state increases us by 2% or 3%, which would give us a couple $100,000 extra, instead of in the negative,” she said.  

 

Eidel said the district is seeing an increase of $50,000 in Medicaid, bringing it to a total of $200,000. She said due to some aid not coming in she suggested that the school board tap $1.15 million from the Fund Balance to offset the tax levy as they did for the current school year.  

 

Presently the tax levy for the 2024-25 school year will collect $33,039,255, which is an increase of $1,125,213 from the current school year. Eidel noted, however, that the First Estimates of Revenues for the 2024-25 school year will total $1,457,567, which  is down by $2,020,322 because last year the district went up to full Foundation Aid.

 

“This puts us in a situation where we might have to make decisions on what we would like to do with the budget,” she said. “This doesn’t mean that we are going to have to cut $2 million from the budget but there are substantial expenses that is definitely going over what this $53 million is projected to do, as it stands right now.”

 

Eidel pointed out that previous federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief [ESSER] funding is done for next year.  

 

“Anything we had that was extra, ESSER Funds supported us through this year too, so that way it was able to help fund all of those expenses,” she said, noting that it was about $600,000 for the current school year.  

 

Eidel said town residents in May will be asked to vote on two 65-passenger Propane buses, each costing $178,680 for a total of $357,360.

 

A second proposition will be on the ballot, proposing a new capital reserve, starting next year for a 10-year term. The proposed maximum allowable amount would be $7,500,000 and it would be used to support infrastructure for future Capital Improvement projects. Currently, there is $1,103,928 in the account and the new proposition would move it into the new reserve fund.