Jeffrey Evener Superintendent of Schools

Homer Central School District PO Box 500, Homer, NY 130

(607) 749-7241 jevener@homercentral.org

HCSD Community,

I am writing to share a candid assessment of the financial challenges facing our district as we prepare for the 2026-2027 school year. We are entering a difficult budget season, and our primary goal is to provide 100% transparency regarding how we arrived here and the steps we must take to move forward.

The Current Reality: A Structural Deficit

For several years, our district has operated with a structural deficit, meaning our annual expenses consistently outpaced our revenues. While we have navigated this in the past, we are now facing a significant gap of over $2 million for the current fiscal year and over a $5 million projected deficit for 2026-2027.

Several compounding factors have led us to this point:

• Rising Costs vs. Flat Revenue: Mandatory costs like health insurance are projected to rise by $800,000, utilities by over $250,000, and mandatory contractual/operational obligations are increasing as well. Our Foundation Aid from the state is only projected to increase by 1% ($200,000) in 2026-2027. 

• Revenue and Expense Discrepancies: In the 2024-25 school year alone, we received approximately $2 million less in state aid than what was budgeted. In addition, expenses have been under-budgeted. This has had a compounding effect on the budget over the years.

• Historical Tax Levy Strategies: Over the last decade, previous Board of Education have approved 0% tax levy increases five times. While intended to provide taxpayer relief, this has resulted in a revenue stream that has not kept pace with the rising costs of public education.

• Exhausted Savings: To bridge previous budget gaps, we have relied on our "rainy day" funds. Our Unassigned Fund Balance has decreased from 4% ($1.77M) in 2020 to just 0.28% ($150,000) today. We have also used over $2.3 million out of our debt service reserve to help balance the budget over the last two budget cycles. Our safety nets are effectively depleted.

Necessary Actions for Stability

We have already implemented a spending freeze for the current fiscal year, restructured our interest earnings practices, and are currently reviewing all vendor contracts for savings. However, since salaries and benefits of our employees comprise over 70% of our total budget, we cannot close a gap of this magnitude through operational cuts alone.

Regrettably, this means we must reduce our staffing levels at the end of this school year to balance the 2026-2027 budget.
This is a painful necessity. We understand the uncertainty and concern this causes for our staff, students, and families. Please know these decisions are being made with both the academic needs of our students and the long-term financial survival of our district in mind.

Next Steps & Transparency

This is not a short-term hurdle; it will take several budget cycles to fully restore our financial health. We are committed to the following:

• Direct Communication: Notifying all impacted individuals personally as soon as decisions are finalized. We have reached out to our NYS Senate and Assembly members hoping for additional fiscal relief. 

• Continuous Updates: Providing clear milestones as we approach the budget vote in May.

• Community Education: Continuously updating the school community on the budget development process. 

We remain dedicated to our students, our staff, our mission, our belief statement, and to the eventual stabilization of our district's finances. Thank you for your support and understanding.

Respectfully,

Jeffrey Evener
Superintendent of Schools