OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Fredonia Central School District Business Administrator John Forbes shared an update on the district’s budget with the Board of Education at a recent meeting.

FREDONIA — As costs of goods and services rise across the country, school districts are forced to adjust.

Fortunately for the Fredonia Central School District, its budget provided just enough room to account for increased costs in multiple areas.

“We had dramatic increases in costs of all kinds of things, and that’s reflected in the areas you’d expect to be impacted,” said Business Administrator John Forbes.

Forbes highlighted increases of approximately $23,000 on natural gas and $68,000 on electrical costs because of higher utility prices. In regard to transportation, higher fuel costs caused an increase of approximately $72,000, with the transportation of students overall is up $66,000.

Special education placement for both out of district placement and in district placement with BOCES each surpassed $100,000, with another close to $50,000 in English Language Learning Services from BOCES. The district will receive aid for some of these costs in the future, but Forbes described it as “a cash-flow issue potentially, if these continue to happen.”

Overall, even with all the increases, the district remained slightly under budget. “As a whole, we basically ended the year almost spending exactly what we budgeted. We were $14,000 to the good … and I can tell you that is a place we have not been in a long time,” said Forbes.

“You did good,” Board of Education President Brian Aldrich told Forbes, with a smile.