Vote Q&A
Included are responses to some commonly asked questions regarding the Phelps-Clifton Springs Central School District budget and ballot propositions (2026).
What are some of the highlights of this year’s budget? On January 21, 2026, the Governor’s office released the School Aid data as part of the Executive Budget for the fiscal year 2026-27. The Governor proposed a Foundation Aid increase of $779M, which reflects the “current law” calculation of the formula plus a 1% minimum guaranteed increase for all districts. Based on the Governor’s proposal, the Phelps-Clifton Springs Central School District will receive a 1% increase in Foundation Aid or an additional $211,320. While this number is significantly less than the Foundation Aid increases over the pastseveral years or the increase in the Consumer Price Index of 2.63% (inflation), the District has been very deliberate in its spending and capital construction in order to increase its expense-based aid and boost the overall School Aid for the 2026-27 school year. This expense-based aid is in the form of BOCES Aid and Building Aid. As School Aid continues to shrink from one year to the next, the District has continued working with its departments and buildings to find efficiencies and close anticipated budget gaps as a result of increased expenditures in several areas of District operations.
What expenditures are increasing the most? There has been a significant increase to the administrative portion of the budget to account for the following BOCES services: upgrades to the District phone system, election management software to address the new Dr. John L. Flateau Voting and Elections Database of New York Act (effective April 1, 2026) and transition planning for a new Director of the Central Business Office at W-FL BOCES. Healthcare in the Finger Lakes Area School Health Plan is expected to increase 18.5%, and the District has budgeted an additional $90,000 to account for increases in electricity bills.
How will the proposed budget affect property owners? The $48,944,277 budget proposal calls for a 2.23% increase in the real property tax levy. Based on $100,000 assessed value, overall assessments and equalization rates from the 2025-26 school year, residents can expect to see an average increase of the following amounts: $50.33 with no STAR exemption, $37.78 if they qualify for the STAR exemption, or $11.94 if they qualify for the enhanced STAR exemption. Keep in mind equalization rates and overall assessments across the seven municipalities will not be released for the 2026 calendar year until this summer.
How is the District tax levy limit calculated? State law mandates that an eight-step formula be used to calculate the District’s tax levy limit. This calculation accounts for growth in the local tax base, the rate of inflation, and provides the District with certain exemptions (capital expenditures, retirement contributions, court orders, and judgments). The District may also carry over the unused portion of the tax levy limit from previous years. However, it can be no greater than 1.5% of the prior year’s tax levy limit. The District has $249,898 in carryover from 2025-26. This coupled with a 1.0092% tax base growth factor and a 2% levy growth factor results in a tax levy limit for the upcoming school year of $16,887,183 for a 4.49% annual increase. For 2026-27, the District is proposing a school tax levy of $16,521,716 representing a 2.23% increase over the previous year. The above increases are based on the 2025-26 tax levy of $16,160,997.
How are reserve funds being used in the proposed budget? The District plans to use $915,000 of its reserves to balance the budget. This amount represents a $105,213 annual increase from the 2025-26 budget. The District will allocate $500,000 from the Employees Retirement System Reserve and $20,000 from the Teachers Retirement System Reserve to offset any contributions to the retirement systems. In order to offset certain contractual obligations for retirees in the coming school year, $95,000 will be used from the Employee Benefits Accrued Liability Reserve. The District will also use $300,000 from its Debt Service Fund to offset the local share of capital debt payments from previous capital projects.
What kind of buses is the District looking to purchase? Are there any updates with the electric bus mandate from New York State? To ensure the safety of students and staff the District is working towards a 5-year rotation of school buses as it phases out aging models. In order to achieve this cycle, the District is proposing to spend up to $1,095,582 out of its 2024 Transportation Capital Reserve Fund to purchase five diesel buses. These buses are as follows: four 70-passenger and one 60-passenger wheelchair accessible bus. The state provides 90% aid reimbursement over five years for the purchase of buses resulting in a net cost to the District of $109,558.
Why is funding for the libraries on the ballot? The District holds the annual appropriations vote for the local libraries in conjunction with the District annual budget vote for efficiency purposes. The funding for the libraries has no impact on the school budget or taxes. This Board of Trustees of the Clifton Springs Library and the Phelps Library and STEAM Lab Makerspace respectfully requested the Board of Education to include a proposition on the ballot regarding funding in the amount of $200,000, to be divided equally between the locations ($100,000 each). Taxes related to the library funding are levied separately from District taxes.
What happens if the budget isn’t approved? The District has two options if the budget is defeated. It can propose a new budget or the same budget for a re-vote in June. If that budget proposal is defeated, then the District would be required to adopt a contingency budget. Since the District is proposing a 2.23% levy increase there would be a change to the tax levy in a contingency budget, specifically a reduction of $360,719. Items such as non-essential equipment would be removed from the defeated budget along with public use of buildings.