As students at Fredonia High School, we, like our fellow classmates, benefit from the programs our district offers, from large, diverse music and sports programs to a wide selection of courses and extracurriculars.

Our students excel outside of the classroom in fields ranging from business and journalism to diving and geography. At the end of the day, though, every school needs resources, paid for by the communities they serve.

Residents’ ability to pay for said resources is, understandably, strained by the 56.03% village tax increase levied last month. If those with fixed incomes or tight budgets have to pay more, it is only logical that they will be opposed to any tax increase whatsoever. However, withholding money from the school will not hurt the village government; it will only hurt the students.

But what got us to this point? District taxpayers rejected the school’s original 2025-26 budget with 2.59% increase in school tax: 0.7% for school programs and 1.9% for Proposition 1 of the district capital project voters approved last December. This project would see replacements and improvements to outdated roofing, heating and electrical systems, as well as to both playgrounds at Wheelock Primary School, ensuring a safe and comfortable learning environment. And while the project itself was approved last December, funding for the roughly $5 million in proposition 1 not covered by state aid (which covers 82.7%) needs to be approved as part of the budget.

A revote is scheduled for June 17 from 2 to 9 p.m. in the Fredonia High School cafeteria, when residents will vote on a revised budget with the 1.9% tax increase for the capital project. This averages to just $5.25 per month for the average household and already includes $166,000 in cuts from the original budget, which will require eliminating two positions and cancelling summer school programs for grades K-8.

If this budget fails, the district will have to use the contingency budget, which involves no tax increase. However, the district would still have to pay for the capital project using roughly $492,000 of cuts from the original proposal in May. This would cut three or four teaching positions, as well as bring a reduction in extracurricular activities, athletics and intramural events. The contingency budget also forces the district to charge rent for the use of school facilities for community events, including athletic fields.

These cuts threaten elements of Fredonia life crucial to academic success at our school. Our school currently leads well above the state average in terms of proficiency for high school Regents examinations in English, US History, Global History, Living Environment (Biology), Earth Science, Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II, as well as in nearly every national AP exam we offer. However, our track record of success will be threatened by staff cuts that will lead to larger class sizes, reduced academic intervention, fewer educational resources and reduced student and teacher morale, all crucial elements of the learning process.

Additionally, students at Fredonia and elsewhere have been severely impacted by the lasting mental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially younger students who spent their formative years in front of a computer deprived of social interaction with peers. An increasing population of immigrant students, on the other hand, has increased the need for English as a New Language (ENL) programs, which are threatened by cuts to K-8 summer programs, of which ENL services make up a large part. These are all new needs that didn’t exist 50, 20, or even 10 years ago, underscoring the need for the very resources that are threatened if the revised budget fails.

If public schools cannot provide these resources, some students may still thrive, but only those who are fortunate enough to be able to afford or access them independently.

For less fortunate students, these threatened programs provide vast opportunities without inhibitive cost. With 16.3% of Fredonia students under the poverty line, access to such resources is simply a necessity to those who may not have other ways to receive them.

As students and leaders within our school and community, we believe it is imperative that our residents understand what is at stake. While $5.25 a month is not negligible, we believe it is affordable for most.

As a college town, Fredonia has a long history of supporting education. As a community, we get from our school what we put into our school. Upholding our quality of education, our community, and the longstanding value of education starts with $5.25 a month. We hope these principles will be remembered with everyone’s vote on the Tuesday.

Ray Dai and Benjamin Feit are Fredonia High School students.