The Fayetteville-Manlius School District is finalizing a preliminary 2026-27 budget that preserves all current student programs and services. To do so, the district is anticipating using about $4 million of its fund balance, which is like a savings account, to balance expenditures and revenues.
That is not a sustainable solution, said Brad Corbin, F-M’s Assistant Superintendent for Business Services. Because of rising costs, the district’s expenses have outpaced its revenues, and in recent years, the district has been relying on fund balance to avoid increasing the tax levy beyond its levy limit and/or reducing expenses in the form of staff, program and service reductions.
“We can’t keep doing this,” Corbin said at the Feb. 9 F-M Board of Education meeting, where he provided a look ahead. “Something has to give.”
The Feb. 9 meeting also featured consultant Deb Ayers, a former OCM BOCES Assistant Superintendent for Administration, who presented a five-year lookback on the district’s recent budgeting history.
“The Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District has done an exceptional job of managing its fiscal responsibilities while providing world-class opportunities for its students,” Ayers said. “However, expenditures are rising at a rate not supported by available revenue streams.”
The 2026-27 preliminary draft budget is $122,981,631, an increase of approximately $6.56 million, or 5.64%, compared to the current school year. About half of that increase is due to debt payments related to capital project work at F-M High School, roofing projects at Eagle Hill and Wellwood middle schools, the high school and the District Office Building and safety and security upgrades across the district.
Mindful of those upcoming payments, building administrators have reduced their budget requests for the next school year while the district is evaluating enrollment trends and potential retirements.
The district is in the end stages of finalizing a budget to present to the board of education on April 21. Once the board approves a plan, it will go before voters on May 19. A public hearing is scheduled for May 11.
In addition to the debt service payments, there are a number of other factors that are driving the spending increase, including:
- $1.1 million: Salaries (includes negotiated/forecasted contracts)
- $2.2 million: Employee health insurance and benefit costs (10.5% rate increase)
- $100,000: Gas and electric (National Grid cost increases)
Based on the governor’s Executive Budget Proposal released in January, F-M’s projected state aid allocation would cover about 32.1% of the district’s preliminary budget expenses. The Executive Budget Proposal is the basis for preliminary budget development, and the final state budget, with final state aid numbers, is slated to be approved by the state Legislature April 1.
The district’s primary revenue source is the tax levy, the amount of money raised through local property taxes. That number is still in development as the district’s calculated tax levy limit increase is due to be submitted to the state March 1. The district will then work to determine how much of the budget would be supported through property taxes and how much fund balance would be used to reduce the taxpayer contribution needed to balance the budget.
A much smaller portion of the budget, about 5%, is supported through revenue from sources such as county sales tax and revenue interest.
More budget information will be shared at upcoming board of education meetings, on the district website and via ParentSquare.