Cortland Enlarged City School District is proposing a budget worth just over $61.6 million for the 2025-26 school year, which includes a 4.99% tax levy increase. The overall budget is a 9.77% increase.
The budget will be Proposition 1 on ballots in the City of Cortland Tuesday and will require 60% of votes in favor to pass.
Voting runs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Kaufman Center — 1 Valley View Dr., Cortland — Virgil Town Hall — 1176 Church St., Virgil — and Cortlandville Municipal Garage — 3587 Terrace Rd., Cortlandville.
Cortland is planning to spend an extra $3.2 million on student programming next year. The district is hoping to make up some of that gap by pulling $2 million from its reserves and $2.3 million from its fund balance. There is also expected to be a $315,000 raise in administrative costs and $2 million leap in capital costs.
Should the budget proposal fail to reach 60% of votes, a contingency budget will be enacted. That would keep the tax levy at the same level as the 2024-25 school year, reducing spending and forcing the district to dip even further into its reserves and fund balance. It would also be forced to reduce staffing and programming opportunities and add rental fees for community use of district facilities, per Section 2,023 of the New York State Education Law.
Proposition 2 is for the purchase of one electric bus and three diesel buses, with the cost not exceeding $1.6 million. The purchase will be bonded over five or eight years, which should keep the debt service schedule steady.
School districts across New York state are expected to transition to electric buses to meet the NYS Zero-Emission Vehicle Mandate. Electric buses can cost between $400,000 to $500,000, with diesel buses costing around $200,000.
Proposition 2 will have no impact on Cortland taxpayers.
Proposition 3 involved purchasing four diesel buses, but will only be considered if Proposition 2 is voted down. Should Proposition 3 come into play, it too will not impact taxpayers.
The Cortland Enlarged City School District, in a newsletter sent to city residents, stated its case for purchasing an electric bus now. The district stated the City of Cortland will be donating a free electric bus charger to the district after a solar field near the district office is completed. School districts are also expected to be fully transitioned to zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
Proposition 4 is for a $7.7 million capital project “aimed at improving safety, accessibility and facilities across the district.” That includes a district-wide security camera replacement, upgrades to the public address systems in each building, an elevator installation at Randall Middle School and an upper gymnasium renovation at Cortland Jr./Sr. High School. The district expects $7 million of the funding will come through bonding, while an additional $700,000 will come through the capital reserve fund.
Proposition 5 is proposing a 2.75% tax levy increase, $473,724, to increase the Cortland Free Library’s budget.
There are also four candidates running for three seats on the Cortland Board of Education. Joseph McMahon, Gavin Teeter, Brenda McGovern and Donald Chu are all vying for seats. The ballots will have the four candidates and three write-in spots on them, with a maximum of three candidates to be voted for on each ballot.
