School budget voting across the Finger Lakes and Upstate New York produced a mix of defeats, close calls, and major board turnover Tuesday night as voters weighed rising costs, tax levy increases, transportation spending, and capital projects ahead of the 2026-27 school year.
Several Upstate districts saw proposed budgets rejected outright, including Odessa-Montour, Prattsburgh, Spencerport, Lyndonville, Ogdensburg, Stamford, Jefferson Central, and AuSable Valley. In multiple cases, voters backed spending plans by a simple majority, but districts failed to secure the supermajority required under New York’s tax cap law.
The Odessa-Montour Central School District’s proposed $23.4 million budget received 56.8% approval but failed because the proposal’s 13% tax levy increase exceeded the state cap threshold and required 60% voter approval. Prattsburgh’s budget also failed despite a 303-213 majority vote in favor after the district proposed a 40.6% tax levy increase.
Spencerport’s proposed budget was narrowly defeated by just 53 votes, 798-745. Lyndonville voters rejected a proposed $19.2 million budget by a 172-129 margin. Stamford Central School District’s proposal failed by only two votes, 75-73.
Elsewhere in Northern New York, Ogdensburg voters rejected a school budget proposal 329-301, while AuSable Valley’s plan failed despite including staff reductions and restructuring measures designed to close a major deficit.
Districts whose budgets failed Tuesday can either move directly to contingency budgets or prepare revised proposals for a statewide re-vote scheduled June 16 under state law.
Despite several high-profile defeats, the vast majority of districts across the Finger Lakes and surrounding regions approved proposed spending plans, transportation propositions, reserve funds, and library funding measures.
In Auburn, voters narrowly approved the Auburn Enlarged City School District’s nearly $112 million budget by a 1,104-999 margin, one of the closest approvals in the region. The vote also produced a significant shakeup on the Board of Education, where longtime incumbent and former board president Dr. Eliezer Hernández lost his reelection bid. Incumbents CJ Calarco and Daniel Lovell retained seats, while newcomer Bruce MacBain won the third available position.
Southern Cayuga voters also ousted incumbents Rachel McCarthy and Timothy Pallokat, replacing them with Alyssa Binns Gunderson and Judith Moody.
Some districts saw especially tight results even where budgets passed. North Rose-Wolcott’s $39.08 million budget passed by only 14 votes, while Skaneateles voters approved a library funding increase by just 18 votes.
Across the Rochester region, nearly every district approved transportation and capital propositions alongside operating budgets. Pittsford voters approved separate reserve funds for buses, electric buses, instructional technology, and a district wayfinding signage project. Fairport, Webster, Wayne, Churchville-Chili, Gates Chili, Rush-Henrietta, Victor, and numerous other districts approved bus purchases or transportation reserve measures.
Electric bus proposals produced mixed results. Dansville voters rejected a proposition to purchase a zero-emission electric school bus, while Hilton voters also defeated an electric bus purchase proposal even as both districts approved their overall budgets.
Large capital reserve measures also received strong support Tuesday night. Auburn voters authorized creation of a 10-year, $20 million capital reserve fund, while Phelps-Clifton Springs voters approved a new reserve fund of up to $10 million for future facility renovations and additions.
Budgets passed in Auburn, Albion, Alexander, Avon, Bloomfield, Brockport, Byron-Bergen, Caledonia-Mumford, Canandaigua, Churchville-Chili, Dundee, Dansville, East Irondequoit, East Rochester, Elba, Fairport, Gananda, Gates Chili, Geneva, Greece, Hilton, Holley, Honeoye, Honeoye Falls-Lima, Ithaca, Jordan-Elbridge, Kendall, Le Roy, Lyons, Manchester-Shortsville, Marcus Whitman, Marion, Moravia, Mount Morris, Naples, Palmyra-Macedon, Pavilion, Penfield, Penn Yan, Perry, Phelps-Clifton Springs, Pittsford, Port Byron, Romulus, Rush-Henrietta, Seneca Falls, Skaneateles, Sodus, South Seneca, Southern Cayuga, Trumansburg, Union Springs, Victor, Warsaw, Waterloo, Watkins Glen, Wayne, Webster, Weedsport, West Irondequoit, Wheatland-Chili, Williamson, Wyoming, York, and several other districts across upstate New York.
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