NEW ROCHELLE, NY (December 10, 2025) — The City School District of New Rochelle kicked off its 2026-2027 budget process with a stark message: deep spending cuts, no new staff, and a continued reliance on attrition as enrollment keeps dropping.
During Budget Work Session #1 on Dec. 4, Assistant Superintendent for Business Carlos X. Leal and Business Administrator Joy Myke presented a plan built around a 10% reduction in discretionary spending, budget allocations tied directly to enrollment, and no projected increase in overall staffing. See slide presentation below.
Enrollment figures show a steady decline. Total K-12 enrollment stood at 9,709 as of October 2025, down from 9,722 the previous year and a peak of 10,672 in October 2017.
Western Suffolk BOCES projects another drop to 9,364 students by October 2026.
Grant funding is also shrinking sharply. Federal COVID-era ARP ESSER funds are gone, and remaining grants including IDEA, Title I, Title II, Title III, and Title IV are projected to fall from $18.7 million in 2023-24 to roughly $6.5 million in the coming year.
The district’s tax levy history shows it fully used its 3.95% allowable increase in 2024-25 and pierced the cap in the current 2025-26 year with a levy of $240.7 million against a calculated cap of $232.4 million.
Pending cost drivers include new collective bargaining agreements with the teachers’ FUSE union and the administrators’ A&S unit, health insurance rates, and state pension contribution rates. There was no mention of the new charter school set to open next fall.
Class size guidelines remain unchanged: 18-22 in kindergarten, 20-24 in grades 1-2, 22-26 in grades 3-5, and 25-30 in grades 6-12.
The budget timeline includes five more work sessions in January, February, and March 2026, with final board adoption expected in late March.
Residents can submit budget questions to budgetquestions@nredlearn.org or speak at school board meetings.
2025-26 Budget Season
Superintendent Dr. Corey W. Reynolds had warned residents of a “fiscal cliff,” stating in a Feb. 25, 2025, community letter that simply rolling over the prior year’s operations would create a $30-33 million gap starting July 1, 2025.
District officials blamed the shortfall on declining enrollment — down roughly 10% since 2015 and projected to lose another 600 students over five years to a new charter school — plus rising health insurance and transportation costs, the shift of post-COVID positions from expiring federal grants to the general fund, minimal growth in state aid and a charter school drawing off 600 students.
Early estimates in February and March pegged the hole at about $20.2 million, but it grew to $30-33 million without intervention by April and May.
To close the gap, the district proposed and voters accepted a $240.7 million tax levy, accelerated tax collections by moving to September and March installments, and targeted up to 200 positions for elimination. By April, 76 pink slips had been issued, including 54 full-time pedagogical and administrative roles and 22 hourly equivalents.
City School District of New Rochelle voters approved a $359.5 million budget for 2025-2026, passing it 3,976 to 2,046 — 66% yes — and clearing the 60% threshold needed to override the state’s 0.33% tax cap.
A one-year postponement of the Capital Preparatory New Rochelle Charter School’s opening provided some financial relief to the City School District of New Rochelle, allowing the reallocation of $1.2 million to prevent seven staff layoff after the budget was passed.
The charter school, initially slated to open in September 2025 with 150 students in kindergarten and grades 6-7, will now use the 2025-2026 school year as a planning period and begin operations in September 2026.
Slide Presentation
This article was drafted with the aid of Grok, an AI tool by xAI, under the direction and editing of Robert Cox to ensure accuracy and adherence to journalistic standards.
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