SLCSD Is Asking Residents for $25.7 Million. Here Is What You Are Paying For.

On May 19, Saranac Lake Central School District voters will decide whether to approve a budget of approximately $39.8 million for the 2026-27 school year — an increase of about 4.28% over the current year.

The part that affects your tax bill directly is the levy: $25,766,961. And here is the number that matters most — the levy increase is only 0.74%, just under the state-imposed cap of 0.75%, one of the tightest caps Superintendent Diane Fox said she has ever seen in her 13 years leading the district.

In 1995, SLCSD had 1,910 students. Today it has around 1,037 — a drop of nearly 900 students over three decades. The district is closing Bloomingdale Elementary and restructuring its buildings. The budget cuts around five teaching positions and two staff positions through attrition.

Public Hearing: May 6 at 5pm in the HS Auditorium. Vote: May 19, 8am to 8pm, HS Door 5.