The Tupper Lake Central School District Board of Education met on Thursday at the L.P. Quinn Elementary School’s library. From left, TLCSD Clerk Shauni Kavanaugh, TLCSD Superintendent Jaycee Welsh, TLCSD Board President Jane Whitmore, Vice President Jason Rolley and members Sabrina Shipman, Mary Ellen Chamberlain and Joshua Tremblay. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

TUPPER LAKE — The Tupper Lake Central School District’s Board of Education voted unanimously on Thursday to adopt the district’s $21,982,546 budget proposed for the 2025-26 school year.

The adopted budget will now head to district voters for approval on May 20. The budget is at TLCSD’s 3.08% tax cap — the percentage increase in its tax levy from last year’s budget — and requires a simple majority by district voters to be approved.

TLCSD’s total adopted budget is up $63,709, or 0.3%, from last year’s $21,918,837. This figure is lower than the district’s tax increase for several reasons. Many of these boil down to decreases in other sources of revenue from previous years, such as a lower unassigned fund balance — down to $150,000 from the $250,000 drawn for the 2024-25 budget — and the loss of revenue from the Smart Schools Bond Act, which provided $282,000 for the 2024-25 school year.

The adopted 2025-26 budget has a tax levy of $10,703,630, up from last year’s $10,383,450. TLCSD encompasses all or parts of three townships: Tupper Lake, Piercefield and Colton. The tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value will be different, as each town has a different equalization rate.

While the final school tax rates will be determined in August, after TLCSD receives town property assessments, estimated tax rates were provided following the board’s adoption. These were based on a 3.08% increase in tax rates to the current, actual, 2024-25 tax rates in each of the towns.

For the town of Tupper Lake, the 2025-26 estimated tax rate is $17.43 per $1,000 of assessed value, meaning that someone owning a property assessed at $300,000 would pay an estimated $5,229 in school taxes if the budget is approved by voters. That’s up from the current actual rate of $16.91 per $1,000 of assessed value, meaning that someone owning a property assessed at $300,000 paid $5,073 in school taxes for the 2024-25 year.

For the town of Piercefield, the 2025-26 estimated tax rate is $15.07 per $1,000 of assessed value, meaning that someone owning a property assessed at $300,000 would pay an estimated $4,521 in school taxes if the budget is approved by voters. That’s up from the current actual rate of $14.62 per $1,000 of assessed value, meaning that someone owning a property assessed at $300,000 paid $4,386 in school taxes for the 2024-25 year.

For the town of Colton, the 2025-26 estimated tax rate is $14.03 per $1,000 of assessed value, meaning that someone owning a property assessed at $300,000 would pay an estimated $4,209 in school taxes if the budget is approved by voters. That’s up from the current actual rate of $13.61 per $1,000 of assessed value, meaning that someone owning a property assessed at $300,000 paid $4,083 in school taxes for the 2024-25 year.

The adopted budget is comprised of 48.7% in school taxes, 48.1% in state aid, 2.5% in miscellaneous revenue and 0.7% in an unassigned fund balance — although these percentages are tentative. The state budget, which dictates how much state aid the district will receive, has still not passed. This comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature remain in negotiations over several budget items. Its budget was due by April 1, but late budgets are common as the state has not passed a budget on time since 2019.

TLCSD’s budget has three areas of expenditure, as required by state regulations: administrative, program and capital. The administrative component covers district-wide supervision and administration. Some of these include superintendent and other district office staff salaries, district legal services, auditing and financial advisory services and board of education expenses.

TLCSD’s 2025-26 budget allocates $1,833,761 for administrative component expenditures, down $172,492 from the 2024-25 budget’s $2,006,253 in administrative expenditures allocation.

The program component — the largest of the three expenditure areas — covers all costs “associated with the delivery of instruction,” according to TLCSD’s budget information packet, which was released after the board voted to adopt it. Some of these include teacher salaries, programs for students with special needs, athletics, occupational education, school counseling and health services.

TLCSD’s 2025-26 budget allocates $15,033,410 for program component expenditures, down $243,597 from the 2024-25 budget’s $15,277,007 in program expenditures allocation. This decrease is partially the result of 11.5 position eliminations, which represent a combination of retirements, attrition and layoffs. The district is creating two part-time positions under its restructuring plans.

TLCSD Superintendent Jaycee Welsh said at a March 31 board meeting that this will likely include either two or three district employees being laid off, although those will not be finalized until the budget is approved.

The capital component includes all purchases of materials, supplies and salaries related to the operation and maintenance of TLCSD buildings, equipment and grounds. This budget section also encompasses employee benefits and all debt service for capital projects and bus purchases. Most of these are obligations the district already has to meet and are non-negotiable.

TLCSD’s budget allocates $5,115,375 for capital component expenditures, up $479,798 from the 2024-25 budget’s $4,635,577.

TLCSD is planning on making several changes aimed at saving money under the adopted budget. These include transitioning the district’s business office to an in-house service, rather than contracting with Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES to provide business services. TLCSD estimates this will result in $425,000 in budgetary savings.

This shift resulted in Jessica Rivers, who served as the district’s business manager under the shared services agreement with FEH BOCES, resigning from her position with TLCSD. On Thursday, the school board unanimously voted to approve a district employment contract with Noelle Short to fill the position as it moves in-house.

Short, who currently serves as the FEH BOCES director of special programs, is expected to begin her position with TLCSD on July 1. Short graduated from TLCSD and lives in Long Lake. She previously served as a teacher, principal and superintendent at the Long Lake Central School District. She also worked as an outdoors and sports writer for the Enterprise from 2005 to 2007.

TLCSD is also transitioning its food services in-house. Those are currently contracted with Capital Region BOCES. The district estimates this will result in $150,000 in budgetary savings.

Six upcoming budget information sessions are scheduled. District voters are invited to learn more about and ask questions about the budget at these events. They are scheduled for:

¯ 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 29 at the TLCSD District Office — 294 Hosely Ave.

¯ 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 7 at the Pine Grove Restaurant — 166 Main St. (Rotary Meeting)

¯ 6 p.m. Monday, May 12 at the L.P. Quinn Elementary School library — 294 Hosely Ave.

¯ 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 13 Location TBD (Kiwanis Club Meeting)

¯ 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 15 at Hollingsworth Hall — 21 High St. (Lions Club)

¯ 6 p.m. Monday, May 19 at 21 Santa Clara Ave. (Village Board Meeting)

The budget vote is scheduled for Tuesday, May 20. Polls are open from noon to 8 p.m. at the Tupper Lake Middle-High Library. District officials ask voters arriving between noon and 3 p.m. to buzz in at the main entrance using the intercom system as the doors will otherwise be locked to maintain a secure building during school hours.

For more budget information, including a line item breakdown available in the Budget Pamphlet 2025-2026, visit tinyurl.com/4f8pfwf6.