At the February 25 Board of Education meeting, I provided an update on our 2025-2026 school district budget and the financial challenges facing our school district. Over the past several years, a combination of financial pressures - including the lingering effects of COVID, lower-than-allowable tax levies, rising costs in health care and transportation, past use of district reserves, and the introduction of a new charter school - has created a significant budget deficit.

Next year, our overall state aid increase is just $377,000 more than this year. While we are advocating for additional state aid, we must plan on what we currently know.

Our Path Forward

To preserve our core academic programs, we are asking the Board of Education to approve a proposed budget that includes a 3.95% tax levy increase, the same percentage as voters approved last year. Even with an increase, however, the district still faces a $20.2 million deficit, requiring difficult choices.

To close this gap, we are proposing:

• Reducing our workforce by up to 200 positions across all buildings and job titles, beginning with vacant positions, retirements, and attrition, before considering layoffs. (This would not impact special education, where ratios are mandated by state law.) While we are speaking specifically about positions, at the end of the day, we are speaking about people - our valued people - people with their own families, rents, mortgages, and other financial and familial responsibilities and obligations. They are our colleagues and our friends and we acknowledge that this will affect their livelihoods and futures. To be honest, each one of us will be greatly affected. We pledge to do all we can as a district to support any of our workforce as they make the transition to new employment.

• Adjusting elementary school bell schedules to allow buses to make two bus runs. If the budget does not pass, the revised transportation plan becomes even more critical, as we will need to find additional savings while staying true to our commitment to providing the best possible education for our students. We understand that changes like this affect your individual households and bring concerns, and we want to ensure that there is a clear way for you to share your thoughts and questions. This decision was not made lightly—we carefully explored all possible options and found no viable alternatives. At this stage, we can no longer delay the necessary savings this plan will provide.

• Balancing class sizes across the district while remaining within established teacher-student ratios.

• Evaluating the use and approval of overtime to limit expenses.

• Reducing contracted services costs.

We understand that these decisions will have a profound impact on our students, staff, and community. Please know that we are staying true to who we are by aligning our budget with our mission, vision, core beliefs, and strategic directions so we can continue delivering the high-quality education our community knows and expects.

Advocating for More State Aid

If the school district is successful in receiving additional state aid beyond what is in the Governor’s current proposal, we will prioritize restoring positions that have the greatest impact on our students.

Your Voice Matters

Your input is essential as we navigate this challenging time. In the coming weeks, you will have the opportunity to share your feedback on the proposed school district budget. I will be holding a series of community conversations with stakeholder groups, including Parent-Teacher Associations, to hear your thoughts and to answer questions.

Key upcoming events:

• The public hearing on the proposed budget: Tuesday, May 6, New Rochelle High School Library

• Budget vote and Board of Education election: Tuesday, May 20

You are also welcome to attend Board of Education meetings or submit feedback via email at budgetquestions@nredlearn.org.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support. We will keep you informed as we move forward together.

Sincerely,

Dr. Corey W. Reynolds
Superintendent of Schools