EdVANTAGE Blog

Two Republican members of the State Assembly, James Tedisco of Schenectady and Saratoga Counties and George Amedore of Montgomery and Schenectady Counties have proposed legislation to ban school districts from adopting a contingency budget that would spend more than a budget rejected by voters.

Their proposal came after a local district facing a second budget vote said a contingency budget would require a 15 percent tax increase, approximately 9 percentage points greater than what the second budget proposal called for.  Voters approved the second budget, making the issue moot for immediate, practical purposes.

The State Education Department holds that a contingency budget cannot spend more than a budget rejected by voters even when a district proposes to increase spending by less than what the contingency budget cap would permit, as many districts did this year.