March 21, 2025
Like many districts across New York State, the New Hartford Central School District is facing numerous challenges as it develops its proposed budget for the 2025-26 school year. Residents will decide on the proposed budget on Tuesday, May 20.
The district has two main revenue sources: state aid and the tax levy. The primary source of state aid comes from Foundation Aid, which is a formula-based aid that takes into account enrollment, among other factors, to distribute state funding to school districts.
Due to declining student enrollment in New Hartford schools, the district is estimated to receive a $289,027 increase in Foundation Aid from the previous year. This 2% increase represents the smallest increase in Foundation Aid the district has received in recent years.
Enrollment data is available on the New York State Education Department website.
| School Year | Foundation Aid | Increase from Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | $8,701,697 | $908,530 (11.66%) |
| 2022-23 | $10,365,225 | $1,663,528 (19.12%) |
| 2023-24 | $10,365,225 | $3,374,109 (32.55%) |
| 2024-25 | $14,451,382 | $712,048 (5.18%) |
| 2025-26 (Estimate based on NYS Governor’s state budget proposal) | $14,740,409 | $289,027 (2%) |
Because student enrollment is lower than last year, New Hartford qualifies for New York’s Save Harmless provision, a mechanism within the Foundation Aid formula that prevents a district from receiving less funding than it did the prior year, even if enrollment declines. Without Save Harmless, the district would have qualified for a $446,691 decrease in Foundation Aid for the 2025-26 school year.
“Foundation Aid is a key funding source for the district’s daily school operations,” said Assistant Superintendent for Business Affairs and Interim Superintendent of Schools Joe Barretta. “Unfortunately, the proposed increase in Foundation Aid fails to keep pace with rising costs. In order to sustain our educational programs and activities, we may need to rely more on our taxpayers.”
At this time, district administrators expect the budget proposal to carry a 3.26% percent tax levy increase, the maximum allowable tax levy New Hartford can propose while requiring the support of a simple majority of voters (50 percent +1) for budget approval.
The district’s budget proposal will be finalized in the coming weeks as administrators await the approval of the NYS budget, which will include the final state aid allocation for New Hartford.
For more information about the school budget vote on May 20, visit the district’s Budget & Finance webpage.