ACCORD, NY – The Rondout Valley Central School District unveiled a proposed $83.5 million budget during a school board meeting on Tuesday evening. The proposal includes eliminating 16 staff positions and not replacing 10 others due to retirements.
The proposed budget for the 2026-2027 school year includes a $5.8 million budget shortfall that Superintendent Paul Spadaro says the district hopes to offset through budget cuts and an increased tax levy.
He says that declining student enrollment and rising healthcare costs has squeezed the district into a tight financial spot. “When our health insurance goes up 16 percent and our [state] aid only goes up 1%, that starts creating a budget gap,” said Spadaro.
Kate Nerko, an eight-year-old student at Kerhonkson Elementary School, says her teachers and counselors are what make her feel safe and get through challenging days. She’s one of hundreds of people who filled the Rondout Valley High School auditorium to push back against the cuts.
“I am only in third grade, but I know this is not fair. The people who work with kids every day should not be cut while administrators get more money,” said Nerko.
Rondout Valley High School students organized a student walkout during the school day on Tuesday hours before the district unveiled the budget cuts. Spadaro says that while the district appreciated the students’ passion, participating students could have been marked absent from class. He confirmed with Radio Catskill that the SROs also called additional law enforcement from the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office during the walkout.
Robert McDonough, a social studies teacher and Rondout Valley Federation union president, says staff are feeling upset but ready to mobilize. “A school district should be able to see a $6 million budget gap coming from 10 miles away,” said McDonough.
A petition opposing the district cuts has since garnered more than 1,800 signatures in five days. McDonough is hopeful that the school board is listening to the community’s concerns.
“I think things are gonna change,” he said. “The board is understanding this… and I actually have faith and hope.”
What does the budget include and how could it affect students?
The cuts include position reductions across all five schools in the school district. With the 26 proposed reductions and attritions, nearly all class sizes would increase except Kindergarten at Marbletown Elementary School. Kerhonkson Elementary grades 1-3 would see the largest class size increase from 16 students to 20 students.
Spadaro proposes bumping up the tax levy to generate more than $1.7 million in revenue. He and Assistant Superintendent Tabitha Biggane also proposed appropriating fund balance and reserves to counter the deficit.
Even with all the proposed budget strategies, the school district still faces a $1.675 million deficit that they plan to offset with staffing cuts and retirement attritions.
Some of the positions they propose eliminating include library teacher aides, a school psychologist, a senior crisis counselor, and a high school math teacher – reductions that change the fabric of the district’s schools, says Stephen Gray.
“You say you want every student to feel they belong, but you are cutting the very people who make that possible. The psychologists, the counselors to support staff… our children rely on them,” said Gray.
The school board listened to nearly two hours of public comment on Tuesday night from parents, students, and school staff. School board members also pressed for answers and expressed concerns that the reductions could hit special education programs the hardest.
Spadaro told Radio Catskill that students will not see any changes to program offerings. “[The budget is] going to have a minimal impact on what is offered to students next year,” said Spadaro.
That could be challenging depending on which positions are eliminated. For instance, how often electives like Black History and the History of Rock and Roll are offered depends on if a social studies teacher position is cut.
Superintendent Spadaro says the district will take the board and community’s feedback and present an updated budget on April 7 during the board’s next budget workshop.
Image: Community members, parents, students, and staff shared public comments at the March 24 school board meeting at the Rondout Valley High School in Accord, N.Y. (Photo Credit: Kimberly Izar)