As our Board of Education continues defining the pathways for creating a Central Campus in Boiceville, fiscal concerns over NYS budgets have once again come to the forefront. These concerns were discussed during the special Board meeting held on Tuesday, October 7.

While the single-campus resolution was originally driven by the educational and social benefits it would provide for students—not by financial necessity—budgetary realities have been elevated.

Last year, the Board shared its concerns about the looming likelihood of significant changes to the New York State Foundation Aid formula, as recommended by the Rockefeller Institute of Government. Because the existing formula does not account for the declining enrollment in the Onteora Central School District over the last 20 years (now approximately half the number of students), the State currently deems the District “overfunded.”  (See video from last year's Governor's discussion). If the proposed changes go into effect, which is likely in the near future, Onteora could experience a substantial loss of Foundation Aid.

Adding to these concerns, an August 2025 press release from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli outlines alarming projections of state budget deficits that could accelerate the negative funding impact. According to Comptroller DiNapoli, New York faces a $34.3 billion cumulative budget gap through State Fiscal Year 2029. (View the full report).

This is an important consideration weighing heavily on the Board of Education as it evaluates the efficiencies and long-term savings created by moving to a Central Campus—anticipated to save approximately $3.2M per year and help stabilize future budget increases.

If Foundation Aid reductions are implemented as predicted, the need to consolidate would likely arise regardless of whether a capital project moves forward.

We understand this issue is of great importance to our community and have received requests for the Comptroller’s report. We also wanted to provide additional context regarding some of the factors the Board has to consider in its discussions.

Please remember that the Board will hold another special meeting on Tuesday, October 14, where this conversation will continue. There will be no Public Be Heard portion at that meeting. However, the following week—on October 21—the Board will hold a regular meeting, during which it is expected to vote on a scaled-back version of the May Capital Project. This revised proposal would transform Bennett Elementary School into a district-wide K–5 school and include additional campus infrastructure updates. We invite all interested to attend or view the meetings on our website and stay engaged in these public discussions.