Yes. With a tax levy increase of 2.1%, the 2025-2026 budget does not exceed the tax cap.

A tax levy is the total amount of money a school district needs to raise through property taxes to fund its budget after considering all other sources of revenue (like state aid). It’s a specific dollar amount and is subject to limitations set forth in New York State’s tax cap formula.

A tax rate is the rate at which property is taxed to meet that levy. It’s usually expressed as a dollar amount per thousand of assessed property value. The tax rate is calculated by dividing the total tax levy by the total taxable assessed value of all properties in the school district. This rate is then applied to the assessed value of individual properties to determine their share of the tax levy.

The true value tax rate, also sometimes called the full value tax rate, is the tax rate expressed as a percentage of the actual market value of a property. It is the rate of the entire school community if every house were assessed at a 100% market value. It provides a standardized way for municipalities to compare tax rates across multiple towns. Some houses in the Bloomfield School District may have a higher tax rate, and some may have a lower rate, depending on their town’s equalization rate.

No. We are not increasing staffing for the next school year. In addition, there are no projected layoffs, however, we have elected not to replace several open positions.

No, the school budget has no influence over housing assessments. The assessed value of a house does impact the amount of taxes a homeowner pays. Please refer to question #2, which explains the difference between the tax levy and tax rate.

Although we are not increasing the size of our staff, the cost to keep existing staff is increasing. For example, we have significant cost increases in areas such as BOCES services, health insurance, retirement expenses, utilities, and general liability insurance, to name a few.

If the Budget was not approved, the District would have to review the sustainability of any non-curricular activities, including clubs and athletic programs. Additionally, the District would need to cut supply and equipment purchases, professional development offerings, and possibly eliminate non-mandatory instructional program offerings. The proposed budget is a .22% increase ($54,108) over last year’s budget. A contingent budget would be a .89% decrease ($215,277), the difference being covered through cuts in supplies, equipment, professional development offerings, extra-curricular offerings, etc.  

The Library Budget and the School Budget are not related. The Library Budget has its own implications related to tax impact. School Districts are required to hold the Library Votes within their community and this could be done in conjunction with their budget vote or at a different time. Bloomfield has traditionally held the two votes in conjunction with one another so that the community can vote on the two budgets at the same time.

In 2019, the East Bloomfield Municipal Public Library proposed it become a “School District” Library. The difference between a Municipal Public Library and a School District Library involves how the budget is supported and who can vote for the budget. A Municipal Library is supported by a Municipality and only those living within the Municipality support the budget and can vote on the budget. A School District Library is supported by those who live within the District and anyone living in the District is able to vote on the budget.

Click here for a full comparison of the differences in the types of Public Libraries.