Rockland Central School District has proposed eliminating seven staff positions in next year’s budget as it faces a $1.2 million budget gap.
The proposed $34.2 million budget for the 2026-2027 school year is a $2 million increase from the district’s current school budget, which the district says accounts for capital project payments and increases in health insurance and transportation costs. Interim Superintendent Keith Lewis also proposed a 4.48 percent tax levy increase that would generate an additional $660,000 in revenue for the school district.
Manor Ink first reported the proposed staffing cuts and that the district will implement a budget freeze starting April 10 for the rest of the 2025-2026 school year.
The upcoming school year is the first budget for Rockland Central School District (Rockland CSD) after it kicked off its inaugural school year. In December 2024, the Roscoe and Livingston Manor Central School districts voted to merge into a single unified school district after decades of debate about a potential merger.
Since the merger, Lewis says the district has been reviewing all department budgets to avoid duplicating services and personnel when necessary.
“We’re trying to do what’s in the best interest of providing the best education for your children and your neighbors, your nieces, nephews, grandchildren and provide you with the opportunity with the best bang for your buck as a taxpayer,” said Lewis during the April 7 school board meeting.
Lewis did not share which positions they proposed to reduce or how it would affect class size during the April board meeting. Radio Catskill reached out to the Rockland Central School District leadership but did not hear back in time for publication.
READ: Voters Approve Merger of Livingston Manor and Roscoe School Districts
Attendees and board members scrutinized the budget during the April board meeting, asking how the district faces such a steep gap and some saying the merger wouldn’t lead to more staffing cuts.
“How could the merger study be so far off where it was promised that Roscoe was going get a six-year savings in their taxes and [Livingston] Manor was going to get a 14-year savings?” said Roy Rogers, school board member.
One attendee raised concerns that staff reductions would affect the quality of students’ education.
“There’s only so many staff members you can cut from instruction where that it completely deflates why you started a merger to begin with,” she said. “Where does that show up? It shows up in our classrooms.”
Others said the influx of second homeowners during the COVID housing boom have distorted the district’s median income, alleging the state aid formula isn’t accurate.
Kathryn Blackman, Interim School Business Manager, says that increasing healthcare costs coupled with high debt service – the costs to repay debt obligations – has left the district in a tight financial spot that many school districts in New York also face. Employee benefits and debt service make up the largest budget increase items in the budget.
“Across the state and probably the country, we’re seeing a rebound effect from COVID and health insurance costs have increased into double digit – a low double digit increase for your district,” said Blackman, adding that other school districts face up to a 20 percent increase in health insurance costs.
Blackman says the district still faces a $1.2 million budget gap that it needs to close, even with the proposed staffing cuts. “We’re looking at programs, personnel, or use of reserves, or some combination of those three,” said Blackman.
The school district has about $11.6 million in reserves as of June 2025, says Blackman, though much of those reserves are restricted for specific purposes.
The board plans to adopt the budget at the next school board meeting on April 21 and will host a public budget hearing on May 5 before the district vote. Residents can vote on the school district budget on May 19.
Image: Rockland Central School District presented its proposed 2026-2027 budget at the April 7 school board meeting in Livingston Manor, New York (Photo Credit: Kimberly Izar)
This was a lie from the beginning. Roscoe should have closed and moved to the Manor school. Enough is enough. Seven staff positions cut. What happened to this supposed savings.