PLATTSBURGH — The city school district held its annual budget hearing Wednesday evening.
Plattsburgh City School District Director of Management Scott Osborne presented the $57.4 million budget, proposed by Osborne and the budget committee and unanimously adopted by the board of education April 16.
The PCSD board and budget vote is scheduled for May 19. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The total proposed budget is $57,410,993, an increase of 2.75% from the 2025-26 budget, and includes a tax-cap compliant property tax levy of 2.51%.
“This budget proposal contains a tax levy increase that, notably, is at the cap. We say ‘at the cap’ because, of course, our state has state law that mandates a certain percentage that school taxes could be raised. We are going to … a budget proposal with a tax levy that is at the cap,” he said. “We are not trying to exceed that.”
EMPLOYEE COSTS
Employee costs are one of the larger factors addressed in the budget proposal, according to Osborne.
“First of all, this is a human services profession … so, therefore, we are going to have employee cost increases. To salaries, health insurance and retirement system contributions.”
Osborne also cited the rising cost of goods, services, supplies and materials, as well as the increased Champlain Valley Educational Services capital costs for a new tech center under construction.
“We rely on Champlain Valley Educational Services, an educational service provider, for many goods and services for our kids,” Osborne said during the presentation. “Many of the BOCEs programs and services for next year have very modest cost increases.”
STATE BUDGET DELAYS
Osborne emphasized current calculations are “forecast well” but aren’t accurate until the state budget is approved in Albany.
“If we had an on-time state budget in Albany, I would be able to speak a little more firmly on those figures,” he said.
Osborne said three key figures are important to consider in the health of the schools budget.
“I talk about 2.51%, that’s the increase that we are asking voters to consider … Then we look at the spending increase. I had just said, 2.75% increase in spend. … by the end of March, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics was reporting that CPI (consumer price index) was running at 2.6%. So what I see here is a really nice triangulation between what’s going on right now in our school system,” he said.
The numbers tell Osborne the district will be positioned to address its needs while still maintaining affordability.
The highest revenues of the district come from state and federal funding with modest increases for targeted categories, according to the hearing presentation. That is currently $26,958,001. The tax levy would generate $26,557,754.
Other revenues include payment in lieu of tax agreements, Medicaid reimbursements, local revenues, interests and earnings. The budget is balanced with the appropriated fund balance.
ON THE DOLLAR PRESENTATIONS
Osborne enlisted the help of Plattsburgh High School students in a marketing class to create a revenue on the dollar chart to break down how the district earns each dollar.
If the entire revenue source was only $1, 47 cents is received through state or federal funding, 46 cents from the tax levy, 5 cents from the appropriated fund balance and 2 cents from other sources.
He enlisted the same class to create an expense on the dollar chart as well.
If all expenses were condensed to $1, the district spends 79 cents on student programming, 11 cents on administrative costs and 10 cents on capital costs.
The district has made a 2026-27 budget binder detailing the proposal, available at each school building, the Duken Administrative Building and the Plattsburgh Public Library.
CAPTIAL PROJECTS
The budget proposal also includes a capital outlay project, or small capital improvement, not to exceed $100,000. The current project includes replacing the veneer panels in the PHS auditorium. If funding allows, carpet will also be replaced.
“The nice thing about capital outlay projects is that they give you an option to achieve some capital improvement work on a smaller scale,” he said.
“You will receive a state aid reimbursement at the next festal year. and if you continue to do that diligently, like we have at Plattsburgh, it reduces your overall scope of to-do list things later on, which is nice.”
Due to the City of Plattsburgh’s redistricting, some will vote in a different polling location May 19. This primarily applies to those who vote at the Duken building and Momot Elementary School locations.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Following the budget hearing presentation, the board opened the meeting to public comment. Two members of the public spoke to address concerns about the budget increases and a lack of communication from the board.
Kylie King, a mother of two students in the district, said the current proposed budget results in expenses of up to $32,000 per student.
“This is higher than the state average, which is among the highest in the country. This is higher than other local districts in this area. This is higher even than any student tuition at maybe local boarding school, and it’s nearly twice the national average. Of course, you can spend, yet educational outcomes for this district are below state and national averages,” she said.
King, an alumna of the district herself, called on the board to explain the ongoing trend.
“I appreciate these small increases year over year, but this is a trend that’s been going on clearly for some time.”
Sandra Ghelman, a mother of three students, called out a lack of transparency regarding the budget.
“During this budget season, there’s been almost no outreach for public engagement,” she said, emphasizing the requirements for publishing notices. “To my knowledge, there have been no mailings, no special announcements and little communication, or no communication, to the community, about the proposed budget, budget subcommittee meetings or even this funded year.”
Ghelman urged the board to “do better” by inviting “meaningful public participation in our children’s public education.”
For more information about the 2026-27 budget, including Osborne’s presentation, as well as board candidates up for election, polling location changes and a timeline of the budget development schedule, visit plattscsd.org/budget-information.