RANDOLPH – An open budget forum will be held today at 6 p.m. in the Randolph High School auditorium in advance of Tuesday’s re-vote on Randolph Central School’s 2026-27 budget.

The re-vote will take place from 2 to 8 p.m. in the high school cafeteria.

The district is proposing a smaller budget than the one that was defeated in May. That budget totaled $27,021,901 budget and came with a 19.27% increase in spending and a 39.75% increase in the district’s property tax levy. The budget up for vote this week totals $25,996,501 and cuts the proposed tax increase to 19.75%.

“The board made

the decision to smooth out this increase to allow district residents more time to plan and prepare,” the board said in its letter to the community.

In a letter to the community, board members noted that Randolph has one of the lowest school property tax rates in Western New York and one of the lowest per-pupil spending rates in the region. The proposed budget increased the school’s full value tax rate by $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, bringing the tax rate to $8.80 per $1,000 of assessed value – less than the $10 per $1,000 of assessed value the district levied in 2020 and less than prior-year rates that were more than $13 per $1,000.

District officials said the district is facing continued cost pressures in the coming years, including $1.2 million in increased employee benefit costs; $600,000 in increased special education costs; projected increases in utility costs for the coming year; higher inflation; limited state aid increases; $1.8 million in Child Victims Act settlement obligations that have been financed and must be repaid over the next several years.

Since 2023, the district has reduced eight full-time positions and has financed items that were previously paid for in cash in order to temporarily reduce short-term financial pressure while working to close the gap between revenues and expenditures.

If the budget is defeated again Tuesday, the school district will operate under a contingency budget that requires the district’s tax levy to remain the same as the 2025-26 tax levy. Staying within the contingency budget often results in cuts to extra-curricular activities or community use of buildings that aren’t protected by existing contracts.

“What happens next matters greatly,” the letter states. “Without long term correction and stabilization, the programs, opportunities, and experiences our community values most may eventually be placed at risk. The children of Randolph deserve the same commitment and investment that students throughout our region receive from their communities.”

Voters also defeated a proposition to purchase and finance vehicles by a 268-227 vote. District officials said in FAQ about the budget there may have been confusion whether or not the district was buying electric buses.

“District leadership believes there may have been confusion related to New York State’s electric

bus mandate,” district officials said. “The buses included in the proposition were not electric buses. They were traditional replacement buses that the district purchases routinely in order to maintain a safe and reliable fleet. Randolph, along with many other districts across New York State, has actively advocated for flexibility, realistic timelines, and responsible implementation related to the state’s electric bus mandate because of the financial challenges it presents for rural school districts.”