Pupils in the Ripley district, which has an enrollment of 170 with two administrators and a $10 million budget, take part in a reading program earlier this spring.

Eighteen school districts using your taxpayer dollars are continuing to prove they are major economic engines for Chautauqua County. Each year at this time, they expect a stamp of approval from residents when it comes to spending plans.

When the annual vote occurs across the state on Tuesday, they often get it. Last year in New York, 96.5% of those budgets passed — with only 24 being defeated.

Most schools normally stay under the state-imposed tax cap, which is 2% this year. But warning signs are evident at many locations that it could be getting treacherous.

Fredonia Central Schools, which failed to pass its first budget proposal last year, is currently low on cash reserves. It used $750,000 of those funds for its proposed 2026-27 $39.6 million budget to not go over the cap this year. At the moment, its unassigned fund balance fell to just 2.32%, which led to the Office of the State Comptroller’s characterization of the district being “susceptible to financial stress” in each of the past two years.

On the other side of the spectrum is Pine Valley Central School. As reported last week, the district has been hoarding nearly 30% of its reserves in recent years and has a proposed budget of $21.1 million. During the spring meetings, South Dayton’s Joe Kortz correctly asserted that amount is far more than the 4% the state recommends.

Administrators, however, rarely worry about tightening the purse strings to assist the residents they serve. “This budget reflects our commitment to operating within our means while continuing to move the district forward,” said Shanda DuClon, Pine Valley superintendent. “We are responsibly utilizing fund balance to protect programs, invest in opportunities for students and staff, and stabilize taxes for our community, especially at a time where everyone is feeling their dollar isn’t going as far as it used to.”

If not for Kortz, how much more money would Pine Valley have been hoarding?

Schools — like municipalities — benefitted from federal funds through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act in 2020 and the American Rescue Plan Act that followed in 2021. It brought a windfall of taxpayer funds that had a horrific caveat: spend it quickly — or lose it.

Elected officials and administrators did not need to be told twice. Most of those monies, which have created the inflation hangover so many Americans are currently critical of, were used in programming — specifically for new hires.

Over the last 10 years, schools and their employees have reaped the rewards of consistent support from communities for funding tax increases as well as increased payrolls and staffing. From 2016 to 2025, according to seethroughny.net, employment numbers for the 18 county districts rose from 3,302 to 4,579 — an increase of 1,277 or 38%. Some of that bump is in educators, but there also is a spectacular number of middle-level administrators at the moment.

Corresponding with this is the impact on payroll. School wages across the county have raced from $136.6 million to $226 million — an increase of $90 million, or 67% during this time span.

During those years when payroll and staffing soared, the opposite impact was taking place with the numbers of students attending. Over that time period, according to the state Education Department, enrollment went from 18,257 to 16,312 — an 11% decrease — for the 18 districts, all but four with less than 1,000 total students.

When residents here consistently complain about Albany or Washington for continued overspending, they are forgetting the role they unconsciously play in the decision-making process. Each time a school budget passes, voters are affirming they are willing to accept higher taxes.

What the county and schools currently face is another public-private sector conundrum. When customers decrease, businesses start to reduce expenses through employees or level of service. As we have seen with schools locally — and around the state — as student numbers keep dropping, employment levels keep rising.

One other major increase taxpayers will be funding when it comes to school budgets is the health care costs. Forestville Superintendent John O’Connor specifically noted that benefits in his district of less than 400 students, are rising 10.2% from just under $2.7 million to nearly $3 million.

That is correct. Health care costs are a burden of the taxpayer, who also is struggling with their own medical bills.

This corner has said it here for years. Our county is too small to be this big when it comes to school districts.

What happens in the continuing efforts between Panama, Sherman and Clymer regarding a potential merger would be a step forward if it happens. If it is rejected, residents will be only punishing themselves and students with unsustainable and unaffordable models for education.

John D’Agostino is editor of The Post-Journal, OBSERVER and Times Observer in Warren, Pa. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 716-487-1111, ext. 253.