Editor’s Note: If you’re looking for comprehensive coverage of individual school districts’ budgets click here.
Voters across the Finger Lakes head to the polls today to decide dozens of school budgets, transportation propositions, library funding requests and school board races as districts continue grappling with rising costs, declining enrollment and pressure to preserve classroom programming.
The votes come as new statewide data shows school spending in New York continues climbing sharply. According to a report released Monday by the Empire Center for Public Policy, school districts outside the state’s five largest city systems are proposing average spending of $37,033 per student for the 2026-27 school year — a 4.9% increase over the current year.
At the same time, enrollment is expected to continue shrinking. The report found districts outside New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers project enrollment will decline by more than 14,000 students next year even as total proposed spending rises to roughly $50.5 billion statewide.
More than half of that spending is expected to come from local property taxes, with statewide property taxes projected to average nearly $19,000 per student.
The growing gap between rising expenses and slower revenue growth has become the defining theme of this year’s school budget season across the Finger Lakes. Administrators throughout the region repeatedly cited healthcare inflation, transportation costs, utilities, contractual obligations and uncertain long-term aid projections as major financial pressures.
Still, most districts across the region are keeping proposed tax levy increases within New York’s tax cap system, often by using reserves, restructuring staffing through attrition, delaying purchases or reducing administrative spending.
Several districts are also asking voters to weigh additional propositions involving buses, capital reserve funds and library appropriations.
Here’s a look at some of the key Finger Lakes school budget votes happening Tuesday:
Ontario County
In Geneva, voters will decide a proposed $76.7 million budget carrying a 3.1% tax levy increase as the district closes a nearly $2.9 million budget gap while relying on approximately $4.3 million in reserves.
Canandaigua voters will consider a $97.8 million budget that includes staffing additions tied to special education services, a school bus purchase proposition and continued funding for the Wood Library Association.
Cayuga County
Auburn school officials are proposing a nearly $112 million spending plan that includes staffing reductions through attrition while expanding special education programming. Voters will also weigh a proposed $20 million capital reserve fund.
Elsewhere in Cayuga County, districts are leaning heavily on reserves and restructuring to absorb soaring healthcare costs and inflation pressures while maintaining athletics, extracurricular programs and academic offerings.
Wayne County
Wayne County districts are presenting a wide range of proposals, but nearly all are built around the same message: preserving classroom stability while managing rapidly rising operational costs.
Some districts, including North Rose-Wolcott and Gananda, are reducing staffing through attrition and restructuring. Others, like Marion and Williamson, are relying heavily on reserves to avoid deeper cuts. Transportation propositions and library funding votes are also scattered across ballots countywide.
Seneca County
Districts in Seneca County are asking voters to approve nearly $138 million in combined spending proposals while navigating healthcare inflation, staffing pressures and long-term planning concerns.
Waterloo’s proposal includes administrative restructuring and staffing changes designed to preserve programming while generating savings. Romulus continues pushing back against the state’s electric school bus mandate while asking voters to approve new diesel transportation purchases. South Seneca’s budget arrives amid a highly visible board race focused on governance and district direction.
Yates County
Penn Yan and Dundee are approaching next year from very different financial positions, though both districts remain within the state tax cap framework.
Penn Yan is proposing a modest spending increase while emphasizing long-term stability and maintaining educational programming despite minimal Foundation Aid growth. Dundee, meanwhile, is proposing an overall spending reduction while still expanding some academic and athletic opportunities. Dundee voters will also decide whether to expand student transportation eligibility and create a new capital reserve fund.
Schuyler County
Watkins Glen school officials are proposing a $33.3 million budget with a tax levy increase below the district’s allowable cap while maintaining current staffing levels and preserving programs ranging from athletics to Advanced Placement testing and world language instruction.
Voters there will also decide a proposition authorizing the lease of three new buses.
Statewide trends shaping local votes
The Empire Center report found 510 districts statewide are proposing spending increases that outpace the current inflation rate of 2.8%, while 274 districts are proposing tax levy increases higher than inflation.
Forty districts across the state are seeking tax cap overrides requiring 60% voter approval, including districts such as Prattsburgh, Randolph, Owego-Apalachin and Odessa-Montour.
The report also highlighted the continued divide in school spending around the state. Long Island districts are projected to spend the most per student at nearly $42,000, while Western New York districts are expected to spend the least at just under $31,000.
Polls open at varying times depending on district, with most voting taking place throughout the day Tuesday.
Readers can find FingerLakes1.com’s full county-by-county and district-by-district school budget coverage across the site, including detailed breakdowns of local proposals, tax impacts, staffing changes and ballot propositions.
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