Dear Chatham Central School District Community,
I wanted to update you on important developments regarding state funding for Chatham Central School District and other budget developments.
The Good News…
In December I provided you with an update on the Rockefeller Institute’s recommendations for changes to state aid, which called for NYS to phase out the save harmless provision for schools. This would have seen our school lose $1.8 million in state operating aid over a two-year period. Thankfully, Governor Hochul has indicated that the save harmless provision will remain in effect for the coming school year, meaning Chatham won’t lose this funding, at least for now. In addition, the governor’s budget proposal included a minimum 2% increase in operating aid for NY schools, so Chatham will likely see a small increase in our operating aid for next year.
The Not-So-Good News…
Our area recently underwent a revaluation of taxable properties and the total full market value of properties within the District’s boundaries rose by approximately 27%. This increase outpaced the NYS average, which, on paper, means our District’s wealth has increased. Unfortunately, this is not a true indicator of the needs of many of our families with children in our schools. As a result, the state lowered the amount of aid it provides Chatham CSD for transportation and BOCES services, resulting in a total loss of aid of approximately $420,000 for next school year.
Additionally, the District is facing health insurance rate hikes in the area of 14% and special education cost increases of approximately 10%.
Combined with inflation, contractual pay raises, and other annual cost increases, the above factors create an approximately $1.1 million budget deficit for next school year.
Our school currently stands on firm financial ground thanks to our long-term budget planning and healthy reserves, but our only major sources of income remain state aid and property taxes. We will need to take a hard look in all areas and reduce spending wherever possible in order to make up the balance. While we will likely have to make some tough decisions over the next few years, our focus will be on preserving opportunities for students and keeping our school culture strong.
Our District’s administrators and Board of Education are currently developing a proposed budget for the 2025-26 school year. Information pertaining to the budget will be presented regularly at Board of Education meetings and will be posted to our Budget News webpage as it becomes available.
As always, we will keep you informed and updated.
Fondly,
Andrew Kourt
Chatham Superintendent
Mike Chudy
Assistant Superintendent for Business