The Poughkeepsie City School District will propose to residents a 2025-26 budget that would expand extended learning time and allow for the implementation of school buses at the elementary level, while adding staff and remaining under the tax cap.

District officials at Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting presented a preliminary $147.45 million spending plan to put in front of voters for approval during the May 20 budget and board election vote. Read the presentation here and watch a video of the meeting on the district’s YouTube page here.

While the budget draft provides a clear picture of how the district will augment the services and support offered to promote student achievement, district officials noted it is based on preliminary school aid totals projected by the state in January and will be adjusted when the final school aid numbers are available in April when the state’s 2025-26 budget is approved. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Eric Jay Rosser and Interim Assistant Superintendent for Business Margarita Lekaj said both the state Assembly and Senate are advocating for increased aid. They also stated they would continue to sift through each line of the budget to find where savings could be found before presenting a final budget draft.

While the preliminary draft would be a 5.9% increase over this year’s spending plan, the tax levy would increase by just 1.247%, the lowest in Rosser’s six years in the district.

Rosser said the budget “reflects our commitment to sustain student progress and to make sure that we are continuing to work on equity, as it relates to equitable allocations to schools based upon student need,” noting “every budget should be focused on … improving student outcomes.”

The budget would make investments in:

• Providing buses to all students grades pre-K through 5 who live at least a half-mile from their school.
• Instructional programming.
• Expanding extended learning time, or ELT, at all elementary schools from three days to five.
• Financing early college and career training programs, such as dual enrollment courses and participation in the Dutchess BOCES CTI program, and the general pre-K through 12 college and career readiness programming happening in each district school.
• Multi-language learning supports.
• Supports for students with exceptionalities.
• Arts and music education.
• Social and emotional learning, including adding an additional social worker for the middle school.
• Community Schools.
• Teacher and leader professional learning, in addition to resources allocated through the district’s Title II budget.
• Right-sizing compensation for staff, a process that has been ongoing for six years.

Rosser noted the district plans to implement a system in which multi-language learners have access to a dedicated transition counselor throughout high school to help address the “high population” of such students who drop out prior to graduation.

The superintendent also noted the district is planning to expand ELT at the middle school to five days, though that would be financed through grant funding rather than the budget itself. And, he told the board officials are working with the Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet to see how they could collaborate to expand the opportunities further.

Board President Fatimah Carmen Martinez Santiago praised the plan to expand ELT.

“I cannot say enough. That is like music to my ears,” she said. “It’s student-focused. It’s an opportunity to have our students involved in very productive work in our district and out of the streets. Phenomenal.”

The elementary ELT expansion would cost roughly $1.86 million. It’s the largest addition to next year’s budget, followed by the $1.8 million needed to begin the elementary school bus program. Lekaj reminded the board 90% of the transportation expenses would be offset by state aid beginning in 2026-27.

The bus program is subject to voter approval through a proposition on the May 20 ballot.

The board president called the transportation plan “huge. This is something that, since I’ve sat on this board, that I’ve heard continuously from the community is, ‘How can we get our kids on buses and to school?’ I don’t know if our community yet realizes how major of a move that is.”

The district’s goal is to present a completed budget draft to the board at its April 2 meeting, pending the state hitting its own April 1 deadline for finalizing its budget.

In addition to the school budget and propositions, one Board of Education seat will be up for election; Trustee Andrew Rieser’s term expires June 30. Polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. May 20 at the following locations:

• Wards 1 and 3: Morse Elementary, 101 Mansion St.
• Ward 5: Warring Elementary School, 283 Mansion St.
• Wards 2 and 4: Clinton Elementary, 100 Montgomery St.
• Wards 6 and 7: Poughkeepsie Middle School, 55 College Ave.
• Ward 8: Krieger Elementary, 265 Hooker Ave. (Whittier Boulevard entrance)

Absentee, early mail and military voting will also be available. Visit the district’s voting page to learn more.