The C-RCS Board of Education welcomes and encourages community participation on education and budget matters. Accordingly, we are committed to creating transparency around the budget development process.
This year, all members of the C-RCS community will again have access to information about the 2025-26 budget development process through presentations made during the public session of Board of Education meetings on January 27, March 10, March 24, and April 7, 2025. We encourage members of the C-RCS community to attend or watch Board of Education meetings to remain informed.
Individuals who attend Board meetings in person also have the opportunity to make public comments to the Board. While the Board does not respond to public comments at the moment, they do take them into consideration and may respond at a later date.
The Board will also convene a Citizens’ Budget Committee (CBC), as they have done in the past. The committee is not charged with developing or adopting the school district’s general fund budget. Under New York State law, only boards of education have the legal authority to adopt and present a general fund budget for voter approval. Instead, the committee’s role is to provide sound counsel and advice to the Board to help inform their work. Members of the CBC have the opportunity to solicit input from friends, neighbors, and community residents and offer advice and recommendations to our district’s administration and Board on the district’s general fund budget for the 2025-2026 school year.
This year, the Board anticipates the inclusion of twenty (20) community members, from various stakeholder groups, to serve on the Citizens’ Budget Committee. This number has been selected as a means of increasing engagement and ensuring that the group is representative of the community, without being too large to accommodate meaningful dialogue. If more than twenty community members express interest, representatives from three stakeholder categories will be selected at random. Those stakeholder groups are: parents, non-parent community members, and staff members who are district residents.
Individuals selected to serve on this year’s CBC are asked to commit to attending all four meetings. This year our committee is scheduled to meet on the following dates:
Wednesday, January 22, 2025 | 5:00 - 6:30 P.M
Tuesday, February 11, 2025 | 5:00 - 6:15 P.M
Monday, March 3, 2025 | 5:00 - 6:30 P.M
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 | 5:00 - 6:30 P.M
Members of the CBC may be asked to provide written feedback in the form surveys and questionnaires related to budget priorities and specific questions about how funds should be allocated. While this feedback is advisory in nature, it can be very helpful to the Board as they consider community perspectives when they make final decisions regarding a proposed budget. Members of the CBC should be prepared to provide this written feedback as a means of representing their corresponding stakeholder groups.
If you are interested in serving on the Citizens’ Budget Committee, please contact Lydia VanEvera in the Superintendent’s Office at 234-4032, ext. 2000 or email [email protected] by January 10. Whether you call or email, please include the following information:
- that you are interested in serving on this year’s CBC and are able to attend the meetings on the dates listed above.
- the best email address for contacting you to set up the meetings and share other important information.
- the group or groups with which you identify (parent, non-parent community member, or a district resident staff member).
We look forward to your participation in this year’s budget development process, either by serving on the Citizens’ Budget Committee or by attending Board of Education meetings.
Sincerely,
Matt Sickles, Superintendent