Dear Fairport Community:

The school budget planning process is underway. The Governor’s Executive Budget was released last month. Fairport is scheduled to receive a scant 1.47% increase in Foundation Aid, our largest funding source, or approximately $338,000.  For comparative purposes, our 2017-18 budget is $127 million budget. Since 2007, Fairport has not received approximately $82 million in unrealized Foundation Aid from NYS. At the February 13 Board of Education meeting, we provided an overview of the non-instructional budget.

Understanding the economic environment is crucial. The rising costs associated with salaries and benefits continue to impact our expenditures. Further, the fiscal outlook resembles past years where all districts in NYS have been challenged with the following factors impacting the budget:

• The Tax Cap: Limits the amount the school district may increase property taxes at 2% or the rate of inflation (CPI), whichever is lower.

• State Foundation Aid: The largest unrestricted aid category that supports public school districts in New York State has not been fully funded since it was enacted in 2007.
• Increasing Student Needs: The past 10 years the needs of our students have significantly changed.

This budget season, we are charged with creating a budget that is responsive to declining enrollment and limited revenue as a result of our tax levy limit. We are projecting a tax cap of 3.12%, which will generate approximately $2.2 million in revenue to support a budget of over $127 million. This budget season we will also be committed to decreasing the reliance on our depleting reserves that have been relied on to balance the revenue side of the budget.

The Board of Education and I continually meet with our legislators locally and in Albany to discuss the need for more substantial increases in Foundation Aid and exclusions to our tax cap formula. Please stay tuned for future budget updates.

Sincerely,

Brett Provenzano
Superintendent of Schools