Tri Valley board hears $39.6 million budget proposal, contingency if voters reject plan

Assistant Superintendent for Business Jeff Froelich presented the Tri Valley Central School District's proposed $39,600,000 budget for the coming year, describing it as a roughly 4% increase (about $1.5 million) over the current year and noting that the largest share is the program component at about $30,800,000.

Froelich, who identified himself as the district's new assistant superintendent for business, broke the budget into the three required components: a capital component (about $4.0 million), an administrative component (about $4.6 million) and the program component, which covers teacher salaries, benefits and student-facing programs. On revenue, he said the two largest sources are the tax levy (about $22.2'$22.8 million, a roughly 2.9% increase) and state aid (about $12.5 million), noting a modest $80,000 increase in foundation aid and some declines in expense-based aids.

Froelich explained contingency options if the budget is voted down: the board may re-submit a revised budget to voters, or if the budget fails twice (the transcript notes a June 19 follow-up), the district would be required to adopt a contingent budget, which cannot raise the tax levy above the current amount and would require roughly $664,000 in additional reductions under the contingency scenario.

Board members asked for clarifications on administrative headcount, capital-reserve funding and specific line-item differences labeled "instruction" versus "teaching." Froelich said he would provide exact administrative staffing numbers and confirmed the district maintains a capital reserve that can be funded at year-end if funds are available. He also detailed career and technical offerings available through BOCES, including welding, automotive, carpentry and heavy equipment programs.

The presentation emphasized that only a small portion of the $39.6 million budget is discretionary (roughly $2.0 million), with the majority committed to salaries, benefits and fixed costs such as transportation and utilities. Froelich summarized: “Overall, the budget, as you can see, is 39,600,000, which is a 4% increase or about 1,500,000 over the current year.”

Next steps: the district will present the proposed budget to voters on the ballot date referenced by the board (the transcript records a vote scheduled for the nineteenth); if the budget is defeated twice the contingency budget would take effect. The board took no final adoption vote on the budget at this meeting; the hearing served to inform voters and collect questions.