Board Insights

Winter is finally winding down, and the promise of spring is close at hand…so that must mean it’s Budget Season! If you’ve ever wondered how the school budget comes to fruition, we have you covered.

The School Budget Process

• Superintendent Pero and Assistant Superintendent for Business Vespi meet with department leaders year-round to continuously work on short- and long-term budget planning. They analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of services and programs in relation to the available resources.
   
• The District Planning Team develops the guidelines and priorities for the upcoming budget and submits the guidelines to the Board of Education for approval. The District Planning Team is the shared decision-making committee for PCSD and includes representatives from all stakeholder groups: parents, teachers, support staff, administrators, and community members at large.
   
• PCSD administrators and Board of Education members carry out year-round advocacy work to remain closely connected with our legislators and government representatives, and to inform our lawmakers about the obstacles and needs of our District.
   
• Budget work sessions: The community is invited to attend three public budget work sessions to learn about individual budget sections in detail, based on presentations by administrators and department leaders. (February 4, February 25, and March 11, all at 6:00 p.m. at Barker Road Middle School in the McCluski Room.)
   
• Budget adoption: The community is invited to attend a meeting where the Board of Education formally votes to adopt the budget. (April 8 at 7:00 p.m. at Barker Road Middle School.)
   
• Budget hearing: The community is invited to hear a formal presentation of the Board of Education’s adopted budget. (May 13 at 7:00 p.m. at Barker Road Middle School in the McCluski Room.)
   
• Budget Vote and Board of Education Election: Due to Capital Project construction, this year’s Budget Vote and Board of Education Election has been moved to Calkins Road Middle School. Voter identification is required. (Tuesday, May 20; 7 am - 9 pm at Calkins Road Middle School Gym, 1899 Calkins Road, Pittsford.)

Our Current Status

As you may know, PCSD receives the lowest amount of Foundation Aid per student - and the lowest amount per district - in Monroe County. Despite inflation, cessation of federal COVID funds, minimum wage increases, and costs of energy, PCSD received only $10,737 in additional Foundation Aid this past year, which equates to only an additional $1.75 per student.

The biggest obstacle we face is that our primary revenue source is capped annually (tax cap) and NYS Foundation Aid is not enough to maintain our robust programs and exceptional educational experiences for our students. Considering the vast needs of our diverse students, the Foundation Aid formula needs to be updated in a way that meets our educational goals while responding to actual inflation rates and increased costs. Until the Foundation Aid formula is corrected, we need to balance programs, services, and the needs of our District with the capped tax levy and limited aid.

Next Steps

We are so grateful to every member of our community who advocated for the needs of all Pittsford students by writing letters and making calls to our local legislators earlier this winter. Our representatives heard our voices loud and clear, and responded. They collectively advocated at the state level for an increase in Foundation Aid.

Working together, we have the ability to realize the promise of public education in New York State. As leaders in public education, student success remains at the heart of our work. We place great value on the collaboration to invest in the resources and funding needed for educational success at a cost that is attainable for a public enterprise.

Most importantly, the next step for our community is to participate in the budget vote. We need everyone to vote on Tuesday, May 20 between 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. at Calkins Road Middle School, 1899 Calkins Road, Pittsford. Voter identification is required as proof of residency.

For more information, please click on this link: PCSD Budget Information