New York school districts holding budget referendums next week plan to spend an average of $31,929 per student, according to a new analysis from the Empire Center.

The data, collected as part of the state Education Department’s Property Tax Report Card and visualized as part of the Empire Center’s annual School Budget Spotlight, detail spending plans for 666 districts that will go before voters on May 16. One-sixth of those districts (111) plan to spend at least $40,000 per student, and 31 plan to spend at least $50,000.

In total, the districts are on track to have increased per-pupil spending by 45 percent over the past 10 years, one and a half times the rate of inflation during that time.

Despite receiving record-setting levels of state aid in the just-enacted state budget, districts are poised to also increase property tax levies an average of 2 percent.

The largest proposed increase is in the North Country’s Chateaugay Central School District, which plans to increase its levy by 22 percent. Four other districts—Montauk (19 percent), Roscoe (12 percent), Town of Webb (11 percent) and Blind Brook-Rye (11 percent)—have proposed property tax levy increases over 10 percent.

Fifteen districts plan to override the property tax cap, meaning they need 60 percent of voters to approve the budget. In another 276 districts, the proposed property tax levy comes within $1,000 of the district’s property tax cap, indicating property taxes would likely have risen higher in the absence of the cap.

The largest proposed reduction is in Long Island’s William Floyd Union Free School District, which plans to cut its levy by 17 percent. Ten other districts proposed smaller tax levies than last year’s, and another 92 districts plan to keep their tax levy unchanged.

Federal data show New York spends 89 percent more per-pupil on K-12 education than the national average, and 36 percent more than Massachusetts.

Property Tax Report Card data do not include the “Big 5” school districts (New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, Syracuse) which do not hold budget referendums. The analysis excludes two districts that filed incomplete data (Green Island and Bolivar-Richburg).

The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.

You may also like

Average Pay at Port Authority Surges as 11 Employees Collect $400k+

Eleven Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees collected more than $400,000 each in total pay last year as average pay surged nine percent, according to 2024 payroll , the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More

97 NYSLRS Retirees Eligible for Pensions Over $200K in FY2025

A total of 97 retirees from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) were eligible for pensions of $200,000 or more during the 2025 fiscal year, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Among the 97 retirees Read More

NYC Employee Pension Payments Cross $6 billion; 70 Members Collect $200k+

The pension plan covering most New York City government agencies, including the City’s subway system, had 70 members with pension payments of at least $200,000 last year, almost quadrupling 2019’s tally of 19, according to new , the Read More

State Lawmakers Spend $268 Million on Legislative Operations

Spending by state lawmakers on office personnel and administrative costs varies widely, with some paying out nearly twice as much as others on their office operations, according to the most recent reported, posted to SeeThroughNY.net. Read More

School Districts Plan To Spend Over $35K Per Student, Outpacing Inflation

School districts presenting budgets to voters on Tuesday, May 20, plan to spend an average of $35,012 per student, up 4.6 percent from the current school year, according to new state data. Data collected by the state Education Departme Read More

Educators Receiving $200k+ Doubles in Five Years

The number of school district employees receiving a total compensation of more than $200,000 have more than doubled since 2019, according to posted today at , the Empire Center’s transparency website. The public educator pay data are based on Fiscal Ye Read More

Median Teacher Pay Exceeds $100K in a Quarter of NY School Districts as Federal Funding Cuts Loom

A total of 186 out of 685 school districts outside New York City last year had a median classroom teacher pay over $100,000, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website, up from 159 five years earlier. All eight Rockland Coun Read More

Few Voices Making Big Choices for NY Taxpayers

School districts across the state last year used lower-turnout special elections to win voter approval for nearly $2 billion in construction projects and other major purchases instead of presenting them alongside their budget proposals in May, according to a new study by the Empire Center for Public Policy in Albany. Read More