They say it takes money to make money.
That could be why the only four school districts in the Lower Hudson Valley seeking community permission to break their tax cap for 2024-25 are among New York’s most affluent: Chappaqua, Harrison, Rye and Scarsdale.
Those school districts, already plush with programs and staff, are requesting that their mostly well-to-do voters approve budget proposals that exceed their tax caps. Sixty percent of voters will have to vote yes for their budgets to pass.
Meanwhile, districts with much greater financial needs will seek to increase their tax levy below what their cap allows, knowing that they might have a hard time getting 60% of voters to approve more. Some districts with the greatest needs often don't raise their tax levy at all.
School districts outside of cities will hold public votes on their budget proposals and school board races next Tuesday, May 21.
Budget information for each of 53 districts is in a chart below.
Inflation to blame
The four districts seeking to exceed their tax cap pointed to years of having to weather rising costs while staying within their caps. But this year, they say, inflation pushed them beyond.
School districts have a very different financial outlook than they did a year ago, as federal pandemic relief money has dried up and most districts will get small increases, or none, in state foundation aid.
In January, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced the tax levy cap for school districts would stay at 2% for the third straight year in 2024-25 but noted that inflation, while on the decline, remained higher than 2%.
“With one-time pandemic relief aid nearly exhausted, school district and municipal officials should carefully monitor cost growth to effectively manage their budgets and ensure they comply with the tax cap law,” DiNapoli said in the announcement.
All school districts are feeling the weight of inflation, but most will seek to make due without whatever tax-levy increase the state cap formula allows.
The state caps how much a school district can increase property taxes year to year. The state starts 2% cap for 2024-25, but that percentage ends up being higher or lower for individual districts depending on a number of factors, such as changes to a community's tax base, capital costs and pension contribution increases.
Local property taxes are the main source of income for school districts across New York. But communities with stronger tax bases and higher property values are able to raise far more money to support their schools. State foundation aid is designed to even the imbalance by driving more aid to poorer communities.
Years of inflation have made everything more expensive, from supplies to software licenses, the Scarsdale district said in responses to questions as part of a budget study, posted on the district's website. Such costs have gone "well beyond what our tax cap compliance budgets could sustain," one response said.
Chappaqua, explaining why it will seek to exceed its cap, cited that it has a lower tax cap, 1.81%, than in past years, along with a minimal increase in state aid.
Rye and Harrison's messages to their communities were similar — after years of staying under the cap, rising costs were driving the need to exceed it.
Of those four districts, Rye was the only one that anticipated a decrease in enrollment for the 2024-25 school year, down less than 1%. The other three all anticipated increases of less than 1%, though Harrison's growth was the driving force behind its $79.5 million bond to expand and upgrade all six of its school buildings, which voters approved last year.
Here are some other highlights from proposed school district budgets across Putnam, Rockland and Westchester:
Carmel, Mount Vernon and North Rockland aren't seeking any increase to their tax levy.
The average proposed spending increase for districts in Putnam, Rockland and Westchester is a little over 4%.
Across the three counties, Rye has proposed the greatest tax levy raise: 6.55%.
Enrollment decline will turn around for most
Enrollment has been declining for years in many districts across the Lower Hudson Valley and the state. But most will see small increases next year.
Twenty-one districts across Putnam, Rockland and Westchester project enrollment declines for next school year. Edgemont expects the largest percentage drop, 5.75%.
Another 21 expect increases of less than 1%. Eight districts project increases between 1% and 3%. Only three districts project enrollment increases greater than 3%: East Ramapo (3.78%), Peekskill (7.59%) and Suffern (8.19%).
Contact Diana Dombrowski at ddombrowski@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @domdomdiana.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: 4 Westchester NY school districts seek tax cap break with voting near
