New York school districts are planning to spend an average of $35,012 per student in the 2025–26 school year, according to new data released by the Empire Center for Public Policy. This figure marks a 4.6% increase over the current year and continues a trend of spending growth that far exceeds both inflation and national averages.
Spending outpaces inflation despite falling enrollment
The state Education Department’s data, analyzed by the Empire Center, show that 502 of the state’s 667 school districts are increasing spending by more than the projected 2.3% inflation rate for 2025. At the same time, only 89 districts expect enrollment growth of 1% or more, while 271 expect student population declines of at least 1%.
Even excluding New York’s “Big Five” school districts—New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers—every remaining district plans to spend at least $22,000 per student. Over half plan to spend $35,000 or more, and 48 districts are budgeting more than $50,000 per student.
Regional disparities in spending
Spending plans vary significantly by region:
- Long Island leads the state with average spending of $39,653 per student.
- Mid-Hudson follows at $38,192.
- Western New York districts are budgeting the least, at an average of $29,288.
All 57 counties outside New York City are projected to spend over $26,000 per student.
National comparison and funding surge
According to the latest U.S. Census data, the national average per-pupil spending in 2023 was $16,526—less than half the budgeted amount in many New York districts.
The increase comes alongside a record state budget allocation. New York is boosting school aid by $1.7 billion, a 4.9% increase, for a total of $37.6 billion in state funding.
Property taxes on the rise
Despite record state aid, 385 school districts plan to raise property taxes at rates exceeding inflation. Forty districts are proposing budgets that exceed New York’s property tax cap, which limits annual increases to 2% or the inflation rate unless 60% of voters approve an override.
Among the districts with the highest proposed tax increases:
- New Lebanon: 15.0%
- Plattsburgh: 13.9%
- Belfast: 13.8%
- Kiryas Joel: 13.1%
- Waverly: 10.5%
The district with the largest cap override is Moriah CSD, which proposes a 20% increase in its tax levy.
What happens next
School budget votes are scheduled for Tuesday, May 20, when residents will decide on proposed spending plans and, in some cases, whether to authorize tax cap overrides.
New York’s property tax cap law, enacted 15 years ago, continues to shape district finances by requiring supermajority approval for overrides. Yet growing per-pupil costs, even in districts with shrinking enrollment, are likely to keep spending and tax debates at the forefront of state education policy.
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