Significant cuts after initial budget proposal fails

Cazenovia Central School District is addressing a budget shortfall of $829,562 for 2025-26, leading to reductions across staff, programs, and student experience. Since the failure of the initial $40,446,980 budget proposal, substantial cuts and changes are already in place for the 2025-26 school year and impact nearly every facet of the district. These changes are a result of voters rejecting the initial May 20 budget proposal, which was above the tax levy limit and needed a 60% supermajority to pass. The district is currently preparing a revised proposal for a June 17 re-vote.

"We understand the concerns these budget adjustments raise for our staff, students, and families," said Superintendent Chris DiFulvio. "Operating with an already constrained budget for many years as mentioned in our Public Hearings, our aim has been to make necessary reductions responsibly, seeking to preserve as much as we can of the programs and services that define our district."

Comprehensive Program and Staff Reductions

• Staffing Reductions: The cuts include a reduction to several full-time positions. These include administrative, instructional (art, music, English teachers), and support staff (library aides, clerical, school counselor) roles. Additionally, numerous stipends for department leaders, building leaders, curriculum chairs, athletics and coaches, and club advisors will be eliminated.

• Administrative and Communication Changes: An assistant principal and a support staff person will be eliminated, and the district will shift from a centralized to a building-specific registration system. Furthermore, a dedicated communications person will be cut, alongside the discontinuation of external BOCES communication services. This will mean reduced website and social media updates, the cessation of print newsletters and annual calendars, and a lack of dedicated crisis communications support.

• Academic and Fine Arts Program Adjustments: Honors classes in Social Studies and English (English 9, English 10, Global I) will no longer be offered. Elective arts courses, such as Music Theory, Guitar I/II, Comic Book Illustration, Digital Art, and Creative Crafts, may not be offered or have reduced sections, leading to larger Studio Art sections. Library hours will be reduced, and high school reading labs and academic intervention services will be cut.

• Extracurricular and Athletic Program Eliminations: A significant number of high school and middle school clubs will cease to exist, including popular options like Caz Creates, Caz Crew, FCCLA, library club, Project CAFE, book club, various art and environmental clubs. Athletic programs face extensive restructuring, with the elimination of several junior varsity teams (football, boys soccer, girls soccer, field hockey, girls lacrosse, baseball) and numerous coaching positions, and the consolidation of some 7th and 8th grade teams. Operational changes will also affect team travel, access to facilities, and competition schedules across multiple sports.
   

"When faced with these unavoidable decisions, we had to prioritize, which often meant looking at programs with the newest or smallest participation numbers, particularly in clubs,” DiFulvio said. “For athletics, the goal was to preserve as many athletic programs as possible, ensuring students still have pathways to participate as they progress through their school years."
 

Contingent Budget Implications

Should the June 17 proposal fail, the district would be required by law to adopt a contingent budget, which means the district's tax levy would remain at the current year's amount with no allowable increase to accommodate rising costs. 

Without that revenue, the district would have to make additional cuts in the amount of $718,519.

“If voters reject the proposal on June 17, we will have no option but to go to a contingent budget, which will require making even more reductions,” said Assistant Superintendent for Finance Thomas Finnerty.

Items that by law must be removed from a contingent budget include the $100k Capital Outlay Project (which in 2025-26 would be gym floor refinishing or door hardening for security purposes), most equipment purchases, certain student supplies, bus purchases, no office equipment rentals, and management confidential employees salary increases.

Other expenses that the district may still have to reduce to ensure there is NO tax levy increase include athletics, extracurricular activities, field trips, pre-existing contractual obligations, and the use of public facilities.

 

Public Hearing and Re-Vote Scheduled 

The community can learn more about the revised budget at a Public Hearing on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in the High School Auditorium. A budget mailer will be sent to district residents after the hearing.

A re-vote on the 2025-26 school budget will be held on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Middle School Aux Gym for all qualified voters.
 

"Every reduction we've made was incredibly difficult, and there are no programs the district wants to cut—that is why we went out over the tax cap,” DiFulvio said. “The district is doing its best to preserve what we can with the new reality."
 

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