KEENE VALLEY — The Keene Central School District Board of Education’s $8.6 million proposed budget for 2024-25 is set to exceed the state’s tax cap by 5.45%.

The district is proposing to spend $8,638,917 in 2024-25, a 9.76% increase from $7,870,480 in 2023-24. The majority of the budget will be funded by taxes. The district proposes to levy $7,155,709 from district taxpayers in 2024-25, which is $585,566 more than this year’s budgeted levy of $6,570,143. This 8.91% increase is above the state’s assigned tax cap for the district for 2024-25, which was 3.46% Tax rates will be around $12.79 per $1,000 in assessed value in the town of Keene, a $1.05 increase from this year, and around $8.64 per $1,000 in assessed value in the town of Jay, a decrease of 9 cents from this year.

Under this proposed tax rate, someone with a home assessed at $300,000 in the town of Keene would pay around $3,837 in school taxes. Someone with a $300,000 home in the town of Jay would pay $2,592. These tax rates are estimates until they are finalized in August.

This year’s budget increase accounts for the addition of a full-time teaching assistant position at Keene Central School, as well as the reinstatement of a part-time Spanish teacher position. The district also plans to purchase a school bus and anticipates increased expenses for universal Pre-K, health insurance and salaries.

Under Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget proposal, which would’ve changed the formula for school foundation aid, KCSD was set to lose $158,504 of its foundation aid, a 32.6% decrease from previous years. Hochul’s formula changes were ultimately scrapped by the state Legislature in its enacted budget, and KCSD received the same amount of foundation aid as last year: $742,194.

Had the foundation aid cuts gone through, the tax levy would’ve likely increased even more to compensate for the loss of state aid. KCSD superintendent Dan Mayberry told the Enterprise in February that the potential foundation aid loss would’ve required an additional tax levy 2.4% increase.

“If we have any fund balance left over, we’ll be using some of that to help soften the blow,” Mayberry said in February. “In a district as small as ours, there’s not many places where you can cut your way to savings.”

Hochul has said she intends to revisit the foundation aid formula next year.

KCSD’s budget hearing will be in the KCS auditorium at 6:30 p.m. on May 13. The school budget vote is from noon to 8 p.m. on May 21 at KCS. To view the KCS proposed budget, visit keenecentralschool.org.

Because the proposed tax levy exceeds the state tax cap for the district, the budget will require a supermajority vote of 60% or more to pass. One school board member will be up for re-election on the ballot. Incumbent Emily Reynolds Bergh is running unopposed for another three-year term.