The Fayetteville-Manlius School District Board of Education adopted a $122,496,620 budget proposal for the 2026-27 school year that would maintain current student programming and services and carry a tax levy increase at the district’s calculated levy limit.
“This budget proposal supports the district’s vision and aligns with our strategic plan,” Superintendent Magda Parvey said. “With the largest portion of the spending plan dedicated to the program component—which includes costs directly related to instruction and student support—we feel it keeps our focus on providing the best opportunities possible for our students.”
About 71% of the proposed budget is allocated to its program component, which also includes transportation, teacher and staff salaries and benefits, instructional technology, special education, co-curricular activities and athletics.
Rising Costs
The budget proposal is a 5.22% increase compared to the current year, primarily because of an additional $3.5 million in capital project debt payments related to recent construction projects, including the $52 million F-M High School project.
Employee health, dental and vision annual premiums are projected to increase districtwide at a 10.5% rate. Past health insurance increases averaged 6.0% over the last 10 years. For 2026-27, the 10.5% increase, or $1.8 million, is driving the bulk of the budget’s program and administrative component increases. Other contractual and inflationary costs outside the district’s control, such as gas and electric costs, are also contributing to the proposed budget’s overall increase.
Because of these rising costs, district officials have looked for areas where they can control spending without cutting into programs and services, which was a main priority throughout budget development.
Examples include:
- Reducing building-level budget requests by 2.20% compared to the current school year;
- Cutting an interim assistant principal position, saving about $96,000; and
- Reducing seven instructional positions through attrition that will not be filled due to retirements, which saves about $650,000.
“Our goal is to continue providing the programs of excellence that F-M is known for while presenting a balanced and responsible budget to our taxpayers,” said Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Brad Corbin.
Funding Sources
Funding for the district’s operating budget comes from two main sources: state aid and the tax levy, which is the total amount of money the district collects from local property taxes. State aid is expected to cover about 31.64% of the district’s expenses. About 5.12% is expected from such sources as county sales tax and revenue interest.
The district’s primary revenue source is the tax levy, which is proposed to support about 63.24% of the budget. The proposed tax levy increase compared to the current school year is 3.12%, which is at the district’s calculated tax levy limit, so a simple majority vote would pass the budget.
Using assessment values and equalization rates from the prior year, the district is estimating the tax rate impact on a Town of Manlius property would be an annual increase of 3.12%, or $0.58 per $1,000 of assessed value. Actual tax rates will be dependent upon assessment and equalization rates set by individual towns and villages in the summer.
To help balance the budget, the district is also proposing to use $3.4 million in fund balance and reserves as revenue, which is about $6,000 less than it allocated in the current budget. Corbin had initially projected that the district would have to use about $4 million in fund balance, which he said is not a sustainable solution to balancing the budget; however, he was able to reduce that amount due to some of the cost saving measures mentioned above.
Funding Sources
On May 19, residents will vote upon the proposed budget 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Wellwood Middle School. There will be a public hearing on the proposal during the 6 p.m. May 11 board of education meeting held at Eagle Hill Middle School.