School boards approve BOCES 2024-25 budget

Component school district boards of education unanimously approved a $14.6 million Capital Region BOCES administrative budget for the 2024-25 school year on Wednesday, April 24.

Component school districts do not vote on the overall budget, only the administrative portion. Component school districts will “vote” on the rest of the total proposed $191,207,896 budget by deciding whether to participate in BOCES services each year.

Most of the budget is an estimate based on the interest of districts in each service. The funds spent will increase or decrease depending on actual district participation.

The only part of the budget not based on districts’ purchase of services is the capital budget, which includes rental fees for facilities. By law, the capital budget is not submitted to vote; however, it is part of the annual assessment that districts pay to Capital Region BOCES.

Two board members elected

Lynne Lenhardt (Bethlehem) was elected to her 10th term on the Capital Region BOCES board. Kimberly Tully (Niskayuna) was elected to her first term on the BOCES Board of Education.

Tully is the director of educational advisement for Tully Rinckey PLLC, and currently serves as president of the Niskayuna Board of Education.

We thank outgoing board member Brian Backus (Niskayuna) for his service.

Lenhardt and Tully were elected by school board members in our component school districts, and will serve three-year terms starting July 1, 2024.

2024-25 Budget At-A-Glance

Administrative Budget: $14,618,385

Capital Budget: $6,195,368

Combined, the administrative and capital portions of the budget represent a 2.75% increase in assessments to districts.

Program Budget: $170,394,132

Total Overall Budget: $191,207,896