CHENANGO COUNTY – Many residents will be voting on their 2026-2027 School District budgets today, May 19.

Budget increases are due to a variety of increases in salaries, health insurance, and general escalation of operational costs and a reduction in state aid.

Greene

The Greene Central School District announced their 2026-27 school year budget at $32,089,286 with a tax levy increase of 3.76%, remaining within the state tax cap.

The proposed budget will bring an increase of 4.33% compared to last year’s 2025-26 school budget of $30,757,457 and does not include any related expenses for the EV mandate. A separate vote for purchase of one EV bus will be held in June.

The election will be held from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., May 19, in the Greene High School Auditorium lobby.

City of Norwich

The Norwich City School District is proposing a budget that calls for no increase in school taxes.

The total proposed 2026-27 budget is $51,743,168. The Norwich School District has a property tax cap of 0.23 percent, but this year they plan to keep school taxes at their current level.

The budget vote will be held from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Sherburne-Earlville

The vote involves the budget proposal as well as a proposal for purchasing non-bus student transportation vehicles. Halliday assured that these vehicle purchases do not impact the 2026-2027 school district budget. Starting the following year they would cost the district around $12,000 annually for five years.

Voting takes place at the Middle School/High School Auditorium Lobby on May 19 from noon to 8 p.m.

Unadilla Valley

The Unadilla Valley School Board is pushing a budget which will keep staffing and programming consistent for the 2026-2027 school year.

UV’s $28.5 million budget consists of a 3.28 percent expenditure increase over the current year – an approximate $905,600 difference. According to UV Superintendent Dr. Brenton Taylor, the proposal allows retention of all teachers, support staff, educational programs, and extracurriculars for the next school year.

Oxford Academy

The total proposed budget for the 2026-2027 school year is $25,541,436, a 6.28% increase from the previous year, with a tax levy increase of 2.7%.

According to Superintendent Nicholas Colosi the estimated tax impact is approximately $3,676 per $100,000 of assessed property value in all of the townships.

The highest reported expenditure is on employee benefits, health insurance, and retirement projected at $7,827,675 for the 2026-2027 school year while in the previous year's budget it was $6,507,283.

The biggest piece of the budget going up relates to costs for health insurance for the district.

Proposition I on the ballot is obviously to approve the annual budget in the amount of $25,541,436, but there are three other propositions to be voted on at the election on May 19 as well.

Proposition II involves purchasing of two diesel powered student transportation vehicles.