2026-2027 School Budget
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April 22, 2026
Dear Fairport community,
The Fairport Board of Education approved the District’s proposed 2026-2027 school budget at its business meeting on April 21, 2026.
Over the past weeks, we have shared some of the challenges the District has faced in developing the 2026-2027 school budget. The proposed budget approved by the Board on Tuesday is the product of a rigorous and thorough accounting of the District’s projected revenues and expenditures and several strategies to mitigate fiscal gaps.
As we have shared, the District began this budget season with an approximate shortfall of $3.7 million, caused in part by inadequate state funding and the rising cost of health care. We are pleased to share that the budget approved by the Board yesterday is a balanced budget.
Decisions surrounding budgets are deeply felt at every level of this organization and in turn by our Fairport families. Every member of our staff and administration team has kept the continued wellbeing of our students at the front of all decisions during this process. The Board and District leaders share a deep commitment to the work we have done to provide exceptional instructional and programmatic opportunities in a fiscally responsible way. We are confident that the 2026-2027 budget and the resulting shifts in programming will continue to provide an exceptional school experience for our Fairport students and meet the expectations of our community.
Since quantifying the $3.7 million budget gap earlier this year, the District has employed mitigation strategies affecting every part of this organization, including but not limited to:
- Maximizing the absorption of positions left open by retirements, including administrative roles, classroom roles and support staff
- Cutting five current positions, both instructional and non-instructional
- Decreasing the annual Facilities Department budget
- Reducing summer sentries and not hosting regional summer school
- Managing non-instructional expenses such as utilities and fuel
- Cutting STAR summer instructional programming
- Making reductions by redesigning the District’s K-5 general education summer school
Details of the proposed 2026-2027 school budget
The proposed $172,287,859 total budget equates to a 4.18% increase over last year’s budget and is in compliance with the Property Tax Levy Limit, which limits the amount of taxes an entity may levy based on a formula. That Tax Levy Limit may be higher or lower than 2%, depending on allowable adjustments or exemptions. The estimated tax levy in the 2026-2027 budget is a projected 3.30% increase.
You can find more information about the development of this proposed budget in the recording of the April 21 Board of Education Business workshop and business meeting. You can also find the answers to Frequently Asked Questions, breakdowns of the budget process and all of the District’s presentations to the public on our 2026-2027 Budget website here.
Items on the ballot for the May 19 public vote include:
- The proposed 2026-2027 school budget
- The election of three Board of Education members
- The election of one Public Library Trustee
- The proposed Fairport Public Library budget
- A proposition to authorize the appropriation and spending of funds from the “Bus Capital Reserve Fund 2002” and “Capital Bus Purchase Reserve Fund 2024” to buy buses for student transportation
- A proposition authorizing and directing the District to establish a capital reserve fund - “2026 Capital Building Reserve Fund” - to fund future construction and renovation of school facilities
Please join us at the Public Hearing on Tuesday, May 5 at 6:30 p.m. in room 512 at FHS. The Public Hearing will also be broadcast live on the District’s YouTube channel.
If you have any questions about the budget process or the proposed 2026-2027 school budget, please email communityrelations@fairport.org.
Sincerely,
Brett Provenzano
Superintendent of Schools
Cast your vote on the proposed 2026-2027 school budget and Board of Education election on May 19, 2026 at Johanna Perrin School!
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Dollars and Cents
Total proposed 2026-2027 budget:
$172,287,859
Budget growth, year over year:
4.18% increase over 2025-2026 budget
Proposed tax levy increase:
3.30% increase
PROGRAM BUDGET (74.08% of total) - $123,635,927
Includes, but is not limited to:
- Student Achievement
- Continued support in ELA and Math K-12
- Universal Pre-K
- Curriculum Development
- Class Sizes and Teaming
- Mental Health Supports
- Electives and Advanced Placement Classes
- Music K-12
- Alt. Education Programming
- Academic Interventions
- Interscholastic Sports, Clubs and Intramurals
- Safety and Security
- Behavioral Specialists
-
SPARK Labs at Elementary
ADMINISTRATIVE BUDGET (11.44%) of total budget) - $19,713,832
Includes, but is not limited to:
- Employee Benefits
- Board of Education meetings, supplies, advocacy (unsalaried positions)
- Central Administration
- Finance
- Legal, Personnel, Public Information & Services
- Other Central Services
- Other Special Items
- Instructional Administrative Support
CAPITAL BUDGET (14.48% of total budget) - $24,938,100
Includes, but is not limited to:
- Operation, Maintenance, and Security
- Refunds on Real Property Taxes
- Bus Purchases
- Employee Benefits
- Debt Service (BANS)
- Interfund Transfer (Debt Service and Capital)
Just the Facts
It’s time to get the facts straight on the proposed 2026-2027 budget!
The Fairport and Perinton community deserves to be well-informed and up to speed before casting a ballot in a school budget vote. Here are some of the frequently asked questions and some of the misinformation we want to clear up as we move toward the May 19 vote!
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FACT:
This budget is a reflection of realities in our District and a responsible use of taxpayer funding. Enrollment, while plateauing, has declined. Enrollment drives course selection and the number of classes available to students. In this budget, the District takes full advantage of the following factors:
- Natural absorption of positions as a result of the 2026-2027 consolidation of MD and FHS, including one administrative position, over seven instructional positions and four non-instructional positions
- Student course requests and interest at the secondary level (9-12). If students don’t enroll in a course, the District won’t staff the course.
- Careful accounting of retirements and staff openings across the District in all grade bands and positions
In 2026-2027, class sizes at Fairport High School will remain in line with previous years. This level of staffing analysis is our due diligence and a community expectation. The proposed 2026-2027 budget will result in some shifts in how the District delivers services, but will not impact the quality of our students’ experiences or the expectations of our school community.
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FACT:
The District is norming the expectations of class sizes in our schools. While the District has always set “ideal” ranges of students per class, the reality inside a classroom is variable: sometimes there are more students than the ideal range, or sometimes fewer. By adjusting the targets for K-6 class sizes in the 2026-2027 budget, the District is narrowing the gap between an “ideal” state and the actual number of students in classrooms, including those who enroll throughout the year. Even with this adjustment, the District is still below the class size limits set out in contracts with teaching staff.
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FACT:
Comparing cost centers across budget lines does not tell the whole story.
A comparison of these budget codes is mathematically misleading, since the total value of the two budget lines -”Central Administration” and “General Instruction” - is vastly different. The “General Instruction” budget code covers everything necessary to our comprehensive general instructional program AND represents a $36 million investment in our staff.
The Central Administration budget line reflects a total of $425,000. As communicated in many public budget meetings and in an effort to streamline the budget process, the Central Administration increase reflects an accounting move of the Board Clerk salary from a Board expense to an Administration expense as a shift in budget codes. This shift was reflected as a savings in the Board expense.
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FACT:
The District used one-time federal stimulus funds for immediate program supports during the pandemic to address critical social-emotional and wellness needs of our students, including instituting a health special in the elementary grades.
While those immediate supports were in place, the District increased the foundational support available to students in the form of a standard social-emotional curriculum, increased counselors at each grade band and behavior specialists at each building. Post-pandemic, emergency federal funding is no longer available, which necessitated the District’s assessment of programming.
As a result, the District believes the proposed structures and foundational supports will effectively serve the classroom teachers and our students 2026-2027. Each elementary building will share counselors and will have one behavior specialist, one social worker and two psychologists.
The District will continue to provide health education at the elementary as mandated by the state. While the budget does eliminate three health teacher positions, the mandated health curriculum will continue to be taught by a certified health teacher, in a return to a pre-pandemic staffing and delivery model.
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FACT:
The District will not see revenues increase OR decrease as a result of reassessments.The tax levy represents the maximum total tax revenue Fairport CSD is authorized to collect. It is important to note that property reassessments do not increase this total; rather, they result in a redistribution of the tax burden across the Perinton community.
Why did the 2026-2027 budget start with a large shortfall?
Over 70% of the annual school budget goes to maintaining the District’s extraordinary workforce. The rise in the cost of benefits and the natural increase in operational costs, along with a negligible increase in NYS aid are some of the challenges that all area school districts are facing; Fairport is no exception. The District’s challenge in the 2026-2027 school year began as an estimated $3.7M gap between expenditures and revenues driven largely by increased health care costs.
How did the District close that gap and arrive at a balanced budget?
- The District identified and enacted a number of strategies to close the budget gap, including but not limited to:
- Maximizing the attrition of positions left open by retirements
- Reductions to instructional positions, including cutting four filled positions for the coming school year
- Assessing class sizes, teaming structure and various operational supports to maximize staff coverage
- Reductions to non-instructional contractual services
- Moving expenses to BOCES to generate aid
- Reductions to summer programming
- Reductions to non-instructional positions, including to Buildings and Grounds and District Office
- Further analyzing the District's use of fund balance and reserves
What is the difference between a budget increase and a tax levy increase?
Budget increases represent the growth of all the things the District needs from year to year - including employee benefits, the cost of inflation, academic programming, extracurricular activities, transportation costs, salaries, maintenance - everything that makes an organization responsive to its constituents.
Tax levy increases are the changes to the total amount of money to be raised locally through taxes by the District to help support the proposed budget.
What do the budget increase and tax levy increase look like in the proposed 2026-2027 budget?
- The budget increase for the proposed 2026-2027 FCSD school budget is 4.18%.
- The tax levy increase for the proposed 2026-2027 FCSD school budget is 3.30%.
Isn't the New York State tax levy "capped" at 2%?
The tax levy "cap" law does not restrict any proposed tax levy increase to 2%. Instead, each district has to follow an eight-step calculation to determine its individual "tax levy limit". That limit is defined as the highest allowable levy the District can propose and still only requires a simple majority of voters to pass the budget. This year’s proposed tax levy increase is compliant with the NYS tax levy law.
What factors affect the District's tax levy limit calculation?
- The prior fiscal year's tax levy
- Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs) received in prior fiscal year
- The growth factor of the tax base (Perinton)
- Exemptions in prior year (capital and court orders)
- Allowable levy growth factor (accounting for inflationary change)
- PILOTs receivable in the coming fiscal year
- Exemptions in current year (capital and court orders)
- Available "carryover" (if any)
What are allowable exclusions the District can add to the levy?
Exclusions are expenses (dollars) that the District can add to the tax levy limit. For example, pension rate contribution increases, the local share of debt on capital projects and school bus purchases are all exclusions to the tax levy limit.
How did the District arrive at the 3.30% tax levy increase as proposed in the 2026-2027 budget?
The 3.30% tax levy increase was determined by adding the calculated tax levy limit to the exclusions and figuring out the maximum allowable levy that the District could propose while still requiring a simple majority of voters (50% + 1) to pass the budget.
Budget Presentations
Our taxpayers choose to invest in our Future-Ready Raiders when they approve the annual school budget. That approval funds more than just classroom experiences and curriculum – it funds every part of the organization! Each year, we go behind the scenes of the budget to show you all the things that your tax dollars fund and how the District is making the most of your investment.
Behind the Instructional Budget
The Value of our Fairport Schools
Candidates for Board of Education
Lisa Christensen - Incumbent
Fairport resident for 12 years
Occupation: Early Childhood Speech-Language Pathologist, Liberty POST
One Fairport High School graduate, three children currently enrolled in Fairport schools
I am running for reelection to continue supporting the Board of Education’s vision and priorities, while also asking thoughtful questions that help the district navigate new challenges with both critical thinking and creativity. As a board member, the most important question I can ask is, “How will this affect students?”
I am proud to live in and serve the Fairport Central School District, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue contributing to the Board of Education.
Erica Belois-Pacer - (BOE President) – Incumbent
Fairport resident for 18.5 years
Occupation: Director of Professional Development and Training, National APSE
Two Fairport High School graduates, one child currently enrolled in Fairport schools
I am running for the Fairport School Board again to continue supporting students, staff, and families during an important time of transition. Since being elected in 2020, I have listened to diverse perspectives and worked to make student-centered decisions. As a parent of children in the district, I stay closely connected to our community. My background as a teacher and my current work supporting educators and individuals with disabilities at the state and national level guide my commitment to expanding opportunities for all. I want to continue the progress we have made and help ensure consistency and support across our schools.
Peter Forsgren
Fairport resident for 25 years
Occupation: C.O.O. and Co-founder, three+one
Five Fairport High School graduates
After 12 years of service on the school board (2012–2024) and a two-year hiatus, my commitment to serving our community—especially our children—remains strong. Providing a quality education for every child is one of government’s most important responsibilities and essential to a thriving community. My wife and I have watched all five of our children progress through Fairport CSD, experiencing firsthand the value of a strong education in preparing them for the future. Fairport does this well—and can continue to do so by staying focused on our mission, maintaining fiscal responsibility, and adapting to rapid technological change. I respectfully ask for your support and your vote to help lead Fairport CSD into a bright future.
Meet the 2026-2027 Board of Education Candidates
Voter Information
Voter Eligibility
To be eligible to vote on the annual District Budget and Board of Education election, a person must meet the following requirements:
- Be at least 18 years of age
- Be a United States citizen
- Be a resident of the Fairport Central School District for at least 30 days preceding the vote
Voters do not have to own property in the school district. Voter registration is not required. Voters do not have to be a parent or have children in the school district.
Voters must provide one proof of residency such as a driver’s license, a non-driver ID card, voter registration card, or utility bill. Each voter is also required to sign his or her name and address.
Early Mail and Absentee Ballots
Residents unable to vote on the annual District budget and Board of Education election on May 19, 2026 because of disability, illness, or travel may request applications for absentee ballots by contacting the District Clerk.
Alternatively, residents may request applications for early mail ballots by contacting the District Clerk. All absentee and early voter ballot applications must be received by the District Clerk at least seven business days prior to the vote if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter or the day before the vote if the ballot is to be picked up personally by the voter. Sealed ballots must be returned to the District Clerk by 5 p.m. on May 19, 2025, the day of the vote.
FCSD District Clerk
(585) 421-2004
districtclerk@fairport.org
