Hoosick Valley Central School District proposes $25.23 million budget; levy would exceed state tax cap, vote set for May 19

The Hoosick Valley Central School District on Tuesday presented a proposed $25,227,546 budget for the 2026–27 school year and told the public the levy needed to support it would exceed the state’s tax‑cap calculation.

Jody Birch, the district’s business manager, opened the budget hearing and said the total represents an increase of $490,984, or 1.98%, over the prior year. Birch said state aid runs were not available at the time of the presentation but that preliminary increases — largely building aid tied to recently finalized capital costs — add about $247,508 to revenues.

Why the budget gap: Birch said employee benefits are the largest growing expense. She cited a roughly $131,000 increase in employer retirement contributions for ERS, a modest reduction in teacher‑retirement contributions, and a projected 10% increase in health‑insurance premiums that she estimated would add just under $421,000 to costs. The district plans to pursue permanent financing for its recent capital project and is appropriating $150,601 from the debt‑service reserve; Birch also said the district will apply about $807,000 of this year’s operating surplus toward next year’s budget.

How it affects taxpayers: Birch explained the district’s levy calculation and equalization rules, and said the proposed levy is $10,014,866. At different points in the presentation she cited a $507,704 excess relative to the computed levy limit (about 5.5%) and elsewhere described an “8½ percent” figure when discussing equalized, true tax‑rate impacts on households; she framed the larger percentage as the equalized comparison and provided example dollar impacts to show the local effect ("that would represent an increase of $92 on a house that's assessed at $100,000," Birch said).

State aid and PILOTs: Birch said the district is a ‘hold‑harmless’ district on foundation aid calculations and noted a small increase in building aid after final cost reports were filed. She also said the district will begin receiving a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) from a previously approved agreement next year, and that the district has reduced its planned reliance on reserves by roughly $502,000 compared with prior assumptions.

Fund balance and reserves: Birch presented a projected ending fund balance of about $7.3 million as of June 30, 2026, with approximately $5.3 million in restricted reserves and an unassigned fund balance just under $1 million (about 4% of the budget). She said the board is proposing to keep the capital reserve in place and to move approximately $781,000 into a renewed capital reserve if voters approve the proposition.

Ballot items and process: The budget, two library tax requests totaling $90,000, and a capital‑reserve reauthorization will appear on the May 19 ballot. Because the proposed levy exceeds the tax cap calculation, Birch said the budget would require a 60% (supermajority) approval to pass; if it fails the board may submit a revised budget in June or adopt a contingency budget that would keep the levy at the 2025–26 level ($9.2 million).

What’s next: Birch said the district will post the presentation and recordings on hoosickvalley.org and reminded residents the budget vote is Tuesday, May 19 (polls open 12 p.m.–8 p.m. at the multipurpose room). She encouraged residents to contact the district with questions.