Amherst Central School District proposes $78.8 million budget; warns contingency would bar community facility use

The Amherst Central School District presented a proposed budget of about $78.8 million for the 2024 fiscal year, and district officials said a roughly $1.4 million (about 5.3%) increase in state aid narrowed the district’s shortfall.

Presenter said the district projects revenues near $78.8 million and described a total spending increase of about $3.2 million (4.3%). "We did receive a significant increase in state aid which allowed us to close our gap and present the budget for you," the Presenter said. The Presenter also noted the ballot displays a figure of $78,785,000 for voter approval.

The Presenter outlined the main drivers of the budget: instruction remains the largest share (more than 77% in the tripartite/component displays) and is budgeted to rise about 13% (roughly $766,000) to cover programs, charter tuition, special-education tuition, health services, athletics, technology and building security. The Presenter said benefits are increasing — citing an ERS rate around 15.2 and TRS moving from about 9.76 to 10.02 — and that health insurance costs are up about 7% to an overall budgeted level near $9 million.

State aid and other offsets: the Presenter said the district’s state-aid allocation rose by about $1.4 million, with most of that as foundation aid bringing foundation-aid funding to about $18 million. Expense-based aid changes netted roughly $57,000. The Presenter said Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) funding previously budgeted for half-day programming doubled this year to support full-day programming, which eased the spending pressure.

Reserves and fund balance: the Presenter said transfers from reserves total about $206,000 (including recurring lines such as $60,000 for tax certiorari and $20,000 for unemployment), the district kept a $2,000,000 contingency line and again allocated $1,000,000 of fund balance to provide flexibility for planned or unplanned expenditures. The Presenter also cited a $127,000 allocation from the debt-service fund to lower taxpayer burden.

Tax impact and levy: using last year’s assessed values, the Presenter said the proposed levy (cited up to $40,000,000) would translate to roughly a $0.46 increase in tax per $1,000 of assessed value if assessments stayed constant. The Presenter said the district also has about $863,000 in allowable exclusions that voters previously approved and that permit the district to exceed the 2% tax cap for specified items.

Contingency scenario if the budget fails: the Presenter described the district’s options if voters reject the budget — revote the same or a revised budget or adopt a contingency budget. Under contingency, the Presenter said the district would freeze the proposed 2.11% increase to 0, bar community members and groups from using district facilities, prohibit purchases of new equipment and nonessential maintenance (unless an emergency), and withhold salary increases for nonunion employees. The Presenter said those cuts would reduce proposed spending to a contingency budget near $78,200,000 and lower the district’s planned spending increase from roughly 3.2% to about 2.7%.

Voting logistics and next steps: the Presenter said voters will be asked to approve the budget at the upcoming vote (the Presenter referenced $78,785,000 as the ballot figure), noted three Board of Education seats are on the ballot with four candidates running, and described electronic poll books and early voting; Ms. Custody, the district clerk, was identified as the contact for absentee and early ballot requests.

Public questions and clarifications: during a brief question-and-answer period, a resident asked, "What's an IPA?" The Presenter replied, "An IPA is an instructional installment purchase agreement," and explained it is a lease‑like arrangement that let the district buy three years’ worth of equipment but spread payments over three years so the district could undertake larger technology projects without paying the full cost up front.

On charter school tuition, the Presenter said the state-set tuition rate for general-education K–12 students was $11,866 per pupil this year and that the district reimbursed tuition for about 48 to 52 charter students in the current year (the Presenter described that count as fluctuating, roughly 45 to 50 on average).

The Presenter closed the hearing and invited community feedback via a year-round form on the district website. The budget and board seats will appear on the district ballot; voters may use early voting or the electronic poll books on election day.