Budget - Valley Central School District

Public Education in the USA

Children are compelled to be in school from early childhood through their teen years. Education is deemed a fundamental right and responsibility for each state to legislate and monitor.

VC Overview

Educates 4,025 students (3/23/2023)
Employs nearly 800 people to do this
Care for 8 buildings and grounds:
- 596,000 square feet
- 396 acres
Graduation rate:
- VC: 91%
- Orange County: 87%
- New York State: 87%

Creating a Balanced Budget

Expenditures (money going out)

Salaries and benefits
Curriculum and staff development
Technology, books and supplies
Buildings and grounds
Transportation
Debt service

Revenues (money coming in)

State and Federal aid
Property tax levy
Miscellaneous income
Fund Balance

Building a budget depends on balance

Revenue must equal expenditure
Existing and new programs considered
Contract obligations must be met
MUST meet mandates
Physical plant repair and preventative care
Long-range planning for the future

Current Fiscal Standing

S&P Global Bond Rating “AA”: The district’s sound financial position, guided by consistent and conservative budgeting practices, including during this current pandemic, have allowed for continued positive fiscal operations and further increase in reserves.

The Major Parts of a Budget: Expenditures

Program Budget (83%)

The program budget includes the salaries and benefits of:

all teachers,
guidance counselors,
aides,
monitors,
psychologists,
nurses,
social workers, and
speech therapists.

Also included are the costs associated with all instruction and extracurricular programs.

Capital Budget (9%)

The capital budget includes:

Debt service on buildings,
bus purchases,
tax certiorari and court-ordered costs, and
operations and maintenance costs including custodial staff.

Administrative Budget (8%)

The administrative budget includes the salaries and benefits of all professional members who spend 50% or more of their time in administration and supervision. Also included are:

clerical staff;
public information;
curriculum development and supervision;
research, planning and evaluation;
legal services; and
school board-related costs.

Planning for Expenditures

Unfunded mandates are required by law with no funding to implement them. There are 113 unfunded mandates we must comply with.

Special education students can cost 3x more to educate than regular education students. Schools must meet all provisions of every IEP. Special education students make up 17% of the VC student population (3/21/22).

The Major Parts of a Budget: Revenue

Sources of Revenue

Tax levy: 58%
Other: 8%
Federal funds: <3%
CARES Act: must spend to receive it, which means putting in expenditure without the revenue

State AId (34%)

Was frozen since 2009
Gov. Hochul pledges more money to schools
State aid is finalized with state budget on April 1

Tax Levy (58%)

Tax levy: amount district will seek through property tax
- What is the tax levy cap?
  - Watch this video about the NYS Tax Levy Cap:
    
    A school board of education may set any tax levy. The tax levy limit determines voter threshold for passage of the proposed budget.
    - AT/under limit: 50% + 1 (simple majority)
    - Over (piercing) limit: 60%+ 1
  - School districts are mandated to hold a budget vote. This unfunded mandate costs VC residents about $15,000 per vote
  - Taxes raised NOT raised one year do not carry over. The increase is based on the actual levy passed. If you go under the levy, you undercut the future levies as well.
Exclusions: tax exempt property and PILOTS
- What is a PILOT?
  - “Payment In Lieu of Taxes”
  - Negotiated by an industrial development agency (Town of Montgomery IDA, Orange County IDA)
  - School districts can appeal to an IDA, but has no vote on any PILOT agreements and must abide by any agreement negotiated
  - IDA can request a Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) to require a gift beyond the PILOT to a community/school district
  - There are 23 PILOTs that do not pay their full tax assessment to the school district
  - None of these businesses have a CBA that benefits the school district
- NYS tax relief: Learn more about property taxes and exemption programs.
- Bottom line on tax impact: The district’s financial advisors provide a rough estimate on the average cost to a taxpayer based on the full value of their home to show the impact on their school property tax bill. It is shown per month and as the annual amount.
  - This is printed in our budget newsletter mailed to every resident before the vote.

Supporting the District Goals

Increase student achievement

Foster college and career readiness and life-long learning
Foster a diverse and inclusive culture
Educate the whole child in an engaging environment which promotes student-centered learning

Attract and retain a knowledgeable and dedicated staff

Build a collaborative learning community that nourishes and empowers a staff that creates a culture for innovation, creativity, and growth
Have a district in which all stakeholders are trusted, valued, and supported
Offer opportunities to develop a highly trained and diverse staff

Serve as a cornerstone of the community

Establish partnerships based on open communication, trust, and collaboration with the community
Maintain high-quality schools that are an investment for our community
Maintain a welcoming and accessible environment for the whole child, whole staff and whole community

Maintain and improve the facilities to support goals 1-3

Provide healthy, safe, attractive, and state-of-the-art facilities

VC Values

Safety
Mental Health/Social Emotional Learning
Future Ready Schools: Facilities
Future Ready Schools: Curriculum & Instruction

Creating A School Budget

The process of creating a budget that allows the district to achieve its district goals begins months before the vote. Learn more about creating a school budget.

School budget explanations can be filled with unfamiliar language. Learn more about school budget language.

Set Goals

The Valley Central School District Board of Education, comprised of elected volunteers from the community, sets goals for education in the district every year. Those goals help the district measure its success in meeting community and state education standards. The school board and superintendent use them to guide the budget process and to help prioritize budget items.

Review Expenses

An important part of planning for the future is reflecting on the past. Early in the budget process, the school board and superintendent review data on current student enrollment, academic performance, and costs to operate the district, including employee salaries and benefits. They also consider trends in the costs of supplies (e.g., fuel, electricity, etc.) and outside services (e.g., BOCES programs). Some items on the cost side are not known until the end of the calendar year and many others are mandated by state law but not funded. Learn more about State mandates.

Budget to Budget Increase

The School Business Official will compare the budget-to-budget increase when he explains the budget to the Board of Education. The budget-to-budget increase shows the spending increase from the current budget to the one proposed for the next year as dictated by the operational costs of the district.

Research Revenue

Building a budget, of course, is not just about expenses. The school board and superintendent also research revenue trends. That means looking at trends in State Aid, researching changes in the local tax base and the challenges facing residents and business owners who provide the funds for the school tax levy.

While the School Business Official can “guesstimate” what the district might receive in State Aid based on enrollment, trends and research, the actual figure is not known until the state budget is adopted on April 1. Currently, State Aid accounts for about 36% of the district’s revenues. See the history of VC’s State Aid.

Another important factor in determining the revenue sources of the district is to calculate the tax levy limit. The tax levy accounts for about 58% of the district’s revenues. The tax levy limit is a complicated calculation of several different factors including CPI. Learn more about tax levy limit.

About 9% of district’s revenues come from other sources part of which are PILOTS. A PILOT is an entity or business that has asked for a “Payment in lieu of taxes” instead of paying their full assessed property taxes in exchange for a promise to develop that property to the advantage of either the Town or County granting it. Learn more about the PILOTS that affect Valley Central.

Proposal

The Superintendent proposes a budget that takes into consideration the obligations of the district to provide a sound education while balancing the needs and concerns of the community. The proposed budget is presented at Board of Education meetings in February and March. A final budget proposal is held to present the budget with any adjustments that were made during the proposal process.

Adoption of A Budget

The Board of Education adopts the budget for presentation to the public for the required budget vote in April. A public budget hearing is held and information about the budget is shared with the public on the website and through a newsletter.

Statewide Budget Vote

State law requires that a public budget vote is held every year on the third Tuesday in May.

The VCSD budget history can be found here.

Property Taxes

New York State Schools are funded by property taxes. Typically, school taxes make up about two-thirds of a property owner’s annual tax bill across the state. Valley Central School District’s taxes are collected through the Town of Montgomery Assessor’s office, which collects the taxes from all the residents of the seven towns that comprise the district. Property tax bills can be looked up for any property in the district.

Property Tax Exemptions

NYS offers property tax relief through the STAR Program. Valley Central further offers tax exemptions to Senior Citizens and Veterans that qualify.

NYS STAR Program

New York State offers the STAR Program to help relieve the tax burden of property owners. There is a program for homeowners under the age of 65 and an enhanced program for homeowners over the age of 65. The program is controlled by New York State and was changed by New York State in 2019. Learn more about the STAR Program.

VCSD Tax Exemptions

Valley Central School District offers additional tax exemption programs to senior citizens, veterans, and volunteer firefighter/ambulance workers. Learn more about VCSD tax exemption programs.