Dear City School District of New Rochelle Community,

Thank you for your advocacy and reaching out to the Board of Education and Administration regarding the reduction of Elementary Band and Orchestra. The Board takes your concerns and feedback seriously and has directed the District administration to restore these programs in the proposed budget.

While Elementary Band and Orchestra are not mandated by New York State Education Department standards, our District has long provided these programs as vital enrichments to our elementary curriculum. Although they were under review for potential reductions both last year and this year, we recognize the value they bring to our students.

With the generous allocation of an additional $1 million in “Bullet Aid” from our state legislators, we were able to maintain these programs for this year. As we are not scheduled to receive this funding again for the next school year, these programs were again proposed to be eliminated in the 2026-2027 budget.

As of this writing, there is no enacted state budget. The School District is still uncertain of what our state funding will be. State funding accounts for 26% of our revenue.

The Board of Education has heard the community’s concerns regarding the reduction of the Elementary Band and Orchestra Programs and has directed the District Administration to reallocate $771,305.60 from funds budgeted for charter school expenditures. Those funds will be used to restore the Elementary Band and Orchestra Programs for the upcoming year.

The proposed 2026-2027 budget that the Board of Education adopted on March 26 must go before voters with the approved amount. It cannot be altered. Therefore, the Board will reallocate the budgeted charter school funds at its July 1 meeting.

It is important to note that voting down the District budget does not guarantee the restoration of any programs, including Elementary Band and Orchestra. If voters reject this budget, the Board of Education has the option of re-presenting the existing budget, presenting a new budget with a different tax levy, or adopting a contingency budget. These would require a new vote on June 16. Or, a contingency budget could be enacted without a second vote and would limit spending to the current year budget amount, forcing an additional $4,445,413 in cuts.

The School District strongly encourages every voter to make their voice heard by voting on Tuesday, May 19, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Budget details and polling sites can be found on our website at nred.org

Sincerely,

William Iannuzzi
President, Board of Education

Corey W. Reynolds
Superintendent of Schools

William B. Ward Elementary School

Excellence In Education

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