Rollover Budget
Hilgendorff reviewed the 2024-25 budget, noting the increase from the previous year and the tax levy, which funded over half of the District’s expenditures. Tracy Young asked for further explanation of how the remaining expenditures are funded. Hilgendorff explained that the majority of the funds come from State Aid, interest earnings, and tuition from out-of-district students who attend Greenville. A more detailed breakdown of revenues will be shared during the March meeting.
2024-25 Budget (Last Year)
Total Budget: $35,986,371
Increase Amount: +$1,758,600
Percent Increase: +5.14%
Tax Levy: $18,642,669
Tax Levy Increase Amount: +$454,699
Percent Increase: +2.50%
Hilgendorff reviewed this year's budget and increase, as well as the tax levy, noting that the tax levy percent increase was objectively on the “lower end” but was actually as high as the District could go under the tax cap formula.
2025-26 Budget (Current Year)
Total Budget: $37,644,226
Increase Amount: +$1,657,855
Percent Increase: +4.61%
Tax Levy: $18,983,829
Tax Levy Increase Amount: +$341,160
Percent Increase: +1.83%
Explaining the Rollover Budget
The Rollover Budget rolls all of the expenses from the current budget forward into a new budget, while increasing known costs, such as contractual obligations. It's the District’s best projection of expenses for next year. The rollover budget will be adjusted as more information and final numbers come in between now and April.
Key factors in the rollover budget are:
- Salaries: all labor contracts across the district expire in June 2026. Numbers are projected based on current contracts, but should be considered a variable until all contracts have been settled.
- Retirement Systems: These rates are set by New York State, the District has no control over them. At this time, the NYS Employees Retirement System (for support staff) is projected to be an average rate of 17.6%. The NYS Teachers Retirement System (for faculty) is projected to be an average rate of 8.25%-8.75%.
Tracy Young asked if the state provided any background on the reason for the increases. Hilgendorff shared that the District does not receive reasoning with the numbers, but he will seek the information elsewhere and provide it to the Board.
- Health Insurance & Prescription Drug Costs: An extensive conversation last year, and will likely be the case this year. The District is projecting a 15% increase in health insurance and a 5% increase in prescription drug costs. These are the same increases as last year. Hilgendorff is hopeful the actual numbers will come in lower, but is preparing for the worst case scenario.
- Liability & Automobile Insurance: These rates will increase this year, as they typically do annually.
- BOCES Services: Includes programs Greenville students attend, like CTE programs, or other services purchased through BOCES, like computer programs. The District uses a flat 3% increase to project next year’s expenses.
- Debt Service: Encompasses the payments the District makes on any money previously borrowed, like interest payments and principal payments, on capital projects or bus purchases.
Comparing the 2025-26 (Current Year) Rollover Budget
2025-26 Rollover Budget Total: $38,048,265
Increase Amount: +$2,061,894
Percent Increase: +5.73%
Note: Last year's rollover budget seemed like a large increase, but approximately $680,000 of the increase was offset by Building Aid from the State for completing the capital project. While the increase was high, the revenue was also high. This year, the District will not be receiving additional Building Aid for the capital project (the Building Aid amount will stay the same).
James Bucci inquired about the Building Aid being a one-time or ongoing payment, now that the building exists. Hilgendorff explained that the Building Aid is not a one-time payment, it lasts for the term of the loan.
2026-27 (Next Year) Rollover Budget
2026-27 Rollover Budget Total: $39,588,722
Increase Amount: +$1,944,496
Percent Increase: +5.17%
Note: The total increase is similar to last year, but the amount of revenue the District receives remains a variable. This will be explained further at the March meeting.
3 Part Budget Components
New York State requires schools to present their budgets in three parts:
- Administrative (ex: administrator salaries, school board costs, etc.)
- Capital (ex: salaries and benefits of B&G staff, debt service, utilities, etc.)
- Program (ex: salaries and benefits of staff delivering pupil services, textbooks, supplies, student activities, etc.)
Below are the anticipated increases for the three components, all of which will be elaborated on at future Board/Budget meetings.
Administrative Component
9.79% of Total Budget
$105,240 increase
2.79% increase
Capital Component
16.37% of Total Budget
$279,880 increase
4.51% increase
Program Component
73.84% of Total Budget
$1,559,377 increase
5.63% increase
Expenditures at a Glance
Breaking down where the projected $1,944,496 increase comes from.
- Salaries & Benefits (for all employees) are projected to increase by $1,319.870 (+4.97%). It's important to note that salaries and benefits for all employees make up 70.38% of the total budget.
- Contractual Services & Tuition, which are things like liability insurance and tuition for students in specialized placements, are projected to increase $468,204 (+12.28%).
-BOCES Services are projected to increase $47,706 (1.54%).
- Debt Service is projected to increase by $160,066 (5.04%). This is a planned increase and is specifically for the purchase of a bus. The District purchased buses this year, and next year will begin making principal payments on that purchase. When the State issued its EV bus mandate,* the District decided to purchase as many diesel buses as possible, while permitted, which is also part of the reason for the increases.
- Inter-fund Transfer to Federal/Food Service is not projected to increase at all. Federal refers to the cost of special education services over the summer months. Food Service refers to any money transferred to the department from the general fund. In the past few years, the District has not had to transfer any money to food service because the department has sustained itself on a la carte sales.
- Equipment/Materials & Supplies/Textbooks is projected to decrease by $51,350. This is a negative number because last year's budget included the purchase of a bus lift (used by the bus garage mechanics to maintain the District’s fleet of buses). This was a one-time purchase that resulted in a decrease in next year's expenditures.
Key Takeaways
- The rollover budget is a starting point. Nothing is finalized.
- The District will be making many adjustments and refinements before proposing the budget.
- Contract negotiations will be a significant variable since salaries and benefits make up such a large part of the budget (accounting for more than 70% of expenses).
- The District is waiting to see what happens with Foundation Aid from the State and Hold Harmless districts like us. The conversation at the state level regarding Hold Harmless districts is not to increase Foundation Aid by the usual 2%, but instead give them the same amount as the previous year (0% increase). This will be key in determining how much Foundation Aid the District receives. At this point, whether Greenville’s Foundation Aid increases or stays the same is a variable.
Tracy Young and Eric Herbstritt asked for clarification about what “Hold Harmless” is. Hilgendorff explained that in New York State, there is a Foundation Aid formula. Put simply, it’s basically the total enrollment of a district x set rate (dollar amount) per student = District's total Foundation Aid from the State for the year. In some districts, when enrollment drops, the result of that formula is lower than what they received in Foundation Aid the previous year. For those districts, New York State has a longstanding practice called Hold Harmless that requires a minimum 2% increase over the previous year, despite the formula not showing a need for an increase. In recent years, Greenville has been teetering the line of "on formula,” meaning the District’s enrollment multiplied by the set dollar amount has resulted in slightly more funding than the previous year. Next year, based on current projections, Greenville will be a Hold Harmless district, unless enrollment increases.
Tracy Young noted that the Governor proposed eliminating Hold Harmless last year, which is part of the reason the State's budget was delayed. Ultimately, Hold Harmless was not eliminated. If Hold Harmless is eliminated this year, the District will not receive an increase in Foundation Aid. If Hold Harmless stays in the State budget, the District will likely receive a 2% increase in aid from last year.
*Tracy Young asked for clarification on the EV bus waiver. Hilgendorff explained that there is a State mandate requiring all districts to purchase EV School Buses beginning in the 2027-28 school year. Due to considerable pushback across New York, the State came back with a waiver that Districts can apply for to postpone the purchase of any EV Buses by one year (Districts can apply for two waivers, maximum delay of 2 years). The second part of the mandate is that by 2035, districts can no longer use diesel buses. The waiver does not change the end date, it just pushes off the start date. The District will have the waiver submitted by March 1, 2026.
Referenced Resources:
Presentation Slides
Budget Handbook
