GOWANDA — The Gowanda Central School District appears to be in a very good position with its 2026-27 school budget thanks to roughly $27.4 million in State Aid projected for the upcoming year.

The Board of Education approved its basic operating budget for the 2026-27 school year in the amount of $40,655,630. That is an increase of 4.14% from 2025-26, amounting to over $1.6 million.

The total tax levy will increase by 1.2% to a total amount of $5,488,398 in 2026-27. The tax levy increase of 1.2%, which is the same increase as the previous budget, is well below the tax cap of 3.96%.

Of the total budget amount, roughly 70% is funded by State Aid. The total amount of State Aid is projected to increase by 2.5% this upcoming year. That amount surpasses the largest portion of the district’s budget, salaries and benefits, which make up 65% of the overall budget.

A major factor influencing the budget increase from 2025-26 is a sizable jump in health insurance costs. Gowanda is not alone in dealing with exorbitant costs for health insurance, which the district estimated at an increase of $570,000 from the previous year, with rates up by 11.5% to 13%.

The district plans to utilize a significant portion of its capital reserve funds to finance its $44.5 million Capital Project approved by voters this past December. The Board approved the transfer of $9.5 million of reserve funds to its Capital Project account.

The district’s adjusted restricted fund balance will drop from over $25 million in 2025-26 to just over $16 million in 2026-27. Its assigned appropriated fund balance will increase from roughly $3.6 million to $3.8 million, while its adjusted unrestricted fund balance will increase from $3.76 million to over $5.5 million.

In addition to the typical budget vote, there will be three other propositions on the ballot. Proposition 2 will be whether to support the purchase of four large diesel school buses with existing vehicle purchase reserve funds. Proposition 3 will be whether to establish a new capital reserve fund for a future capital project, roughly five years from now, using unassigned fund balance to fund the account. Proposition 4 will be the appropriation for the Gowanda Free Library, which will be taxed through local municipal taxes, but collected by the school for distribution.

The annual budget vote will be held on Tuesday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. in the Middle School Library.