RCSD budget deliberations begin

Budget deliberations for the Rochester City School District have begun. Initial projections indicate that the district could face a $38 million gap, its largest in recent history.

This most likely signals the need for cuts in order to present a balanced budget by the March 2025 deadline. The estimated general fund budget, without reductions and estimated expense increases, is $954.9 million.

“The budget is more than a financial document. It’s a reflection of our values, strategic priorities and community aspirations,” said Demario Strickland, RCSD interim superintendent, at a meeting last week. “This process is about more than numbers. It is about designing pathways to empower our students, support our educators, and uplift our entire district together through collaboration and innovation.”

The last time a budget gap was mentioned in public documents was in the initial 2020-2021 presentation under then-Superintendent Terry Dade, when there was a deficit of $26.6 million.

Strickland says the likely cause of the current gap is increases in employee compensation (around 4 percent) and rising health care costs. He is looking to close the gap in areas including “non-mandated” full-time employee positions, which are mainly at central office or administrative staff, more efficient operational expenses, evaluating outside contracts on fulfillment and return on investment, and determining existing vacancies.

“I for one want to make sure that we make those decisions as far away from the classroom as possible,” said Commissioner Amy Maloy, echoing many other sentiments of the board. “We have to analyze (non-mandated positions’) effectiveness and I want us also to think about what is going to most likely have a positive impact on our students, academically speaking.

“I think (the $38 million gap) clearly indicates a lack of sustainability and within a few years we could be in the same shape that we were when I first came on to the board,” she continued. “I was elected in 2019 and the district had just cut many positions, over 200, I believe. So obviously, I’m really concerned and want to make sure that we’re moving in a direction that allows us to develop a sustainable model.”

President Cynthia Elliott noted that classroom expenses, including teacher compensation, are the largest line on the budget sheet. Union pay rates and health care costs were the reason for this, she believes.

“The fact of the matter is we will have to get into the schools, we will have to make some decisions there,” she said.

Uncertainty over changes in the federal government hung over the deliberations. Calls by President-elect Donald Trump to close the Department of Education could impact federal funding, which currently contributes a significant minority share of the budget. While the current projections have 82 percent coming from the state, which is typical for RCSD, federal funds still represent hundreds of millions of dollars.

For that reason, Strickland is opposed to using the surplus of fund balance to deal with the gap.

“It’s been reiterated time and time again since the election, we have no idea what next year’s forecast will look like,” he said. “Our state monitor and our Board of Education president made it very clear that we need to leave (the) fund balance alone because of the state of where our country may be going.”

Elliott called for optimism and pointed to the community’s resilience. 

“Let me also end by saying I want you all to be encouraged. I don’t care what we have going on in Washington. I come from a people who went through slavery, went through the middle passages, had to come through being slavery, had to go through Jim Crow,” she said. “I know that we as a people, we make our way out of nowhere. So, even if the federal funds were ended, I know from my people that we will make a way.”

More details will come into focus next month when Gov. Kathy Hochul presents her executive budget. After that, RCSD’s balanced budget will be completed in February. State Monitor Jamie Alicea is slated to receive it in March. City Council presentations on the budget will occur in April and the final product will be published in May.

Strickland noted the working session was the earliest it has been held for the district. This gives RCSD officials plenty of time to conduct a participatory budget process that will include the community. 

“We have some tough decisions to make. We need to enlist the support and help of the community to help make and own some of those decisions. This is a vehicle to ensure that process happens,” Strickland said.

“The folks who are in the classroom and even families sometimes actually sometimes have a greater idea of how those cuts should look like,” Vice President Beatriz LeBron said. “Sometimes I find that often we do get it wrong because we’re thinking of this certain position and we don’t know how critical that position is versus getting feedback from the school community and families and community members.”

LeBron has been a key supporter of a participatory budget process, something she has been working on for the past four years under the previous state monitor, Shelley Jallow. The vice president said changes in top leadership roles, including superintendent, are the reason for the slow installation of the process.

Participatory budgeting in Rochester would be similar to Syracuse’s system, which began in 2017 and included Alicea. LeBron said the simulation tool, Balancing Act, would be used in this process and allow meetings to be held outside a school board setting by any number of stakeholders. More details will come later in the process, she promised.

Commissioner James Patterson criticized certain past spending decisions, including a contract with payroll software company Oracle and what he saw as an overspending of American Rescue Plan funds on FTE positions.

“This problem, it didn’t have to occur,” Patterson said. “I said way back then that we’re going to have a problem when those (ARP) funds are gone.”

His comments received a sharp response from Elliott, who defended the costs as a long-term efficiency solution.

Patterson’s attempt to rebut those statements was ruled out of procedural order, but he persisted. After microphones were cut, he and LeBron engaged in a shouting match, leaving the end of deliberations with an uneasy and divided air.

“I just wanted to say thank you all for your suggestions and thoughts as it pertains to this season’s budget process,” Strickland said in his closing remarks. “Do know that my personal values with transparency and openness and making sure that there’s some inclusivity with the public and the overall community is really at the forefront here.”