Board of Education members in the Fredonia Central School district did a commendable thing. With a comfortable fund balance, members decided to do the right thing: keep the tax rate flat.

“Basically what the state has told us is, we’re fat. We’re obese,” said board member Brian Aldrich. “We can get by with a 0% tax increase and still have very good finances in this district.”

Aldrich noted that the fund balance for the district is at $3.7 million, while fellow board member Tom Hawk noted the reserve fund has increased 88% from 2014 to 2018. That means there is a bit of a cushion for the school to operate.

Other schools in the area are in the same boat: big reserves, thanks to budgets that take more away from taxpayers than is necessary. Once a budget year is complete and the district is in a surplus, that money is stashed away.

Fredonia’s doing it right. Keep this year’s tax rate at zero.