Nearly 300 people showed up to the recent Kingston City School District budget hearing. Teachers, social workers, parents, students, people directly affected by what happens in our schools.

Most were upset and had something to say about how our tax dollars are spent this year and how that will shape our schools, our community, and our future.

Some of them brought questions driven by insider info on big changes they see coming: as many as 59 staff positions at risk, continued investment in technology, and plans to bring high-needs special education students back into the district, possibly with reduced staffing. These are not trivial decisions.

Unfortunately, it seems we are being asked to vote on a budget we can’t pin down.

A Challenging Year to Be an Informed Voter

Five days before the budget hearing I wanted to know what was getting cut and what wasn’t. I couldn’t find the detailed budget statement on the website. I read a state law that says a detailed budget statement needs to be available at least seven days before the budget hearing. So I called and asked for it, to no avail. I followed up with a FOIL request that evening and was told I could expect the details no later than May 22, four days after the vote.

In many districts, detailed budget information is made available in advance so the public can actually read it first. In Kingston, the detailed budget wasn't available until a few hours before the hearing began. That's not enough time to read it, let alone ask good questions about it.

At the hearing, we didn’t get much more clarity. The superintendent said, “The conversation is about what is getting cut and right now that decision hasn’t been completely made. We continue to work on where we are with the budget and where we’re cutting spending.” (Budget Hearing Youtube video, Padalino: 36:03, youtube.com/watch?v=pNYy_x8-sTE&t=2168s)

When people in the audience asked directly whether educator positions at risk were in or out of the budget we’re being asked to approve, that question was not answered.

We were told there have been “zero layoffs” and “there are positions that may not return next year,” and that the district “cannot say” whether some staff will still have jobs. For families waiting to find out if they still have a paycheck in September, that's not an answer.

Decide First, Explain Later (If at All)

This isn’t the first time our community has been asked to accept a major decision without time or transparent access to examine the facts and figures.

Last year, the administration said it cost about $2,000 more per pupil to run one school than others and used that claim to eliminate a program built over two decades. The school community pushed back. The numbers didn’t match facts on the ground or state data (bit.ly/48ZsRxP) showing the school actually received the least per-pupil funding in the district.

Over 300 community members signed a petition asking the Board of Education not to eliminate the program but to at least keep it as a dual track option. The program had a local investment model. It did not use curricula or ed tech with recurring licenses. Instead, it required one-time investments in teacher training and materials that last for decades.

They also asked the board many times to check the facts and look at the numbers the administration was reporting, but no corrections were made before the board used its “final authority” to eliminate the program.

Through a FOIL request, I was finally able to see the actual calculation (here: bit.ly/3PKjrQh). The per-pupil variance cited, roughly $2,000, appears to come from removing students from the count without removing their costs from the total. Fewer kids in the denominator, same expenses in the numerator. A few kids being held responsible for spending that went toward other kids. This math was never explained publicly.

The vote to close the program wasn’t participatory. It wasn’t even on the meeting agenda. The community had ideas about how school money should be invested wisely. The Board used “final authority” to decide otherwise.

That matters, not just because of what was lost, but because it’s the same pattern we’re seeing now.

How Will Cuts Impact our Local Economy?

A retired substitute teacher at the hearing put it plainly: anyone let go from a position in this district is someone who can’t spend as much at Kingston businesses. She also said that most of the good teaching she sees in classrooms “is not on the computers.”

This budget cuts staff while maintaining spending on curricula and ed tech platforms that charge annual licensing fees. Most of those dollars leave Kingston. A teacher’s salary and training stay in our local economy.

Kingston Families Have Taken This to Albany

A group of Kingston parents has filed a legal appeal with the State Education Commissioner asking whether our district is complying with New York's shared decision-making requirements. In many districts, building-level teams of teachers, parents, and students share in key decisions, informed by in-the-schools perspectives. Here, stakeholders have been told that “final authority” on all matters has to rest with the superintendent and board.

That question is now before the commissioner, and this budget process is a good example of why it matters. When people are asked to weigh in on a document they haven’t had time to read, with details still changing, it’s hard to call that meaningful participation.

I don’t question anyone’s intentions. I do question our local process.

Why I’m Voting No

Voting no is not a rejection of public education, teachers, or students. It is a way of saying: we need time to read this budget, to check the math, to get clarity about what is changing, and we need real answers with more detail before we say yay or nay.

If the budget fails once, schools don’t close. It goes to a revote in June. Between now and then, we can dig into the budget and get responses to our FOIL requests for additional information behind the cuts.

Taxpayers in other districts have used the time between a “no” vote and a re-vote to give leadership time to hear informed community priorities and weigh alternatives.

Final authority over this budget rests with the voters. On this version, I’m using my final authority to get clarity and a say for those most impacted by the coming changes.

To submit a FOIL request: kingstoncityschools.org/resources/foil-request

Full budget: kingstoncityschools.org/ourdistrict/budget-information

State expenditure data: data.nysed.gov/expenditures.php?year=2024&instid=800000036308

Budget hearing video: youtube.com/watch?v=pNYy_x8-sTE&t=2168s

FOIL response referenced: bit.ly/3PKjrQh

NYSED KCSD Per School data: bit.ly/48ZsRxP