SALAMANCA, N.Y. — Normally this coming week we would see school districts around Western New York holding school budget votes for their taxpayers and residents in their school buildings.
But now with COVID-19 complications that voting for the spending plans and school board seats that are up for election will be done through the mail.
Come May 22, or perhaps a bit later, you may see an absentee ballot in your mailbox if you live in a suburban school district. It's actually this year's school district budget vote.
For example, in the Salamanca and Grand Island Districts, it was a logistical logjam that had to be handled for those ballots.
Salamanca Superintendent Robert Breidenstein said, "We normally send out about 60 absentee ballots and military ballots each year and we sent out eight thousand ballots. The return postage is a significant expense."
Grand Island Superintendent Brian Graham added: "Typically, Grand Island utilizes about 110 absentee ballots per year, and so to switch gears in a short amount of time to procure 15,600 has been quite the challenge."
Of course, the actual budget making process has been a greater challenge for school boards and districts, as well with uncertainty about funding that might or might not funnel down from Washington to Albany if Congress agrees or cannot agree on more aid.
David Albert of the New York School Boards Association points out: "Schools are not entirely sure what their state aid allocation is going to be. The Governor has talked about a potential for about 20 percent cut in state aid, which would be catastrophic for many school districts."
That may be just a worst case scenario, but districts already tried to prepare with some limited cuts. And they realize they may have to make more program and staffing reductions or reassignments.
As for any tax hikes in these budget plans, it is expected most districts will probably hold the line for their residents many of whom are also struggling financially.
Robert Lowry of the New York State Council of School Superintendents said "there is no opportunity for a second vote, so that causes districts to be cautious in what they pose as a tax levy."
School district officials say they're also trying to project into the future by looking into the past. They point out with the 2008-2009 recession. It actually took five years for school funding levels to recover in New York State, so they're anticipating it could be a problem with this pandemic as well.