2026-27 School Operating Budget

On March 31, 2026, the Board of Education approved the Recommended Budget for the 2026-27 school year.   

If you have any questions regarding the budget or school finances, please contact Mr. Jeffrey Petrus, Assistant Superintendent for Business and Support Services at (716) 209-6209 or via email jpetrus@opschools.org
 

The adopted Legal Notice for the May 19, 2026, vote and election is as follows:  

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING & ELECTION OF THE ORCHARD PARK CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the Annual School District Meeting and Election (the “Annual Vote”) of the Orchard Park Central School District, Erie County, New York (the “District”) will be held on Tuesday, May 19, 2026 from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the Orchard Park High School, 4040 Baker Road, Orchard Park, New York, to vote, by voting machine, for the purposes of: (i) electing three (3) members of the Board of Education of the District (the “Board”); (ii) voting on the budget of the District for the 2026-27 fiscal year; (iii) voting on the purchase and financing of school buses; (iv) and transacting such other business as may be authorized by law.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that the election of members of the Board shall be held to fill three (3) at-large positions on the Board.  The candidates receiving the three highest vote totals shall each be elected to three-year terms (commencing July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2029) to fill the vacancies created by the expiration, on June 30, 2026, of the terms of Mr. Steven Comeau, Ed Draves, and Dr. Jennifer Rogers.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that all candidates for the office of members of the Board shall be nominated by petition.  Each petition shall be directed to the District Clerk, shall be signed by at least twenty-eight (28) qualified voters of the District, shall state the name and residence of the candidate, shall state the residence of each signer, and shall be filed in the office of the District Clerk between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., excluding weekends and holidays, not later than April 20, 2026. Petition forms may be obtained from the District Clerk in the District Office at 2240 Southwestern Blvd., West Seneca, NY 14224, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., except for Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the qualified voters of the District shall be entitled to vote at said Annual Vote. A qualified voter is one who is (1) a citizen of the United States of America, (2) eighteen (18) years of age or older, (3) resident within the District for a period of thirty (30) days next preceding the Annual Vote and (4) not otherwise disqualified from voting in school district elections. The District may require all persons offering to vote at the Annual Vote to provide one form of proof of residency pursuant to Education Law Section 2018-c. Such form may include a driver’s license, a non-driver identification card, a utility bill or a voter registration card, upon offer of proof of residency the District may also require all persons offering to vote to provide their signatures, printed names and addresses.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that voting at the Annual Vote shall consist of the Board election, voting on the following propositions, and voting on any other propositions as may be authorized by law and the rules of the Board to be voted on at such time:

PROPOSITION NO. 1 (2026-27 BUDGET)
Shall the following resolution be adopted?

RESOLVED, that the budget for the Orchard Park Central School District (the “District”) for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2027, as presented by the Board of Education of the District, is hereby approved and adopted, and the required funds therefor are hereby appropriated and the necessary real property taxes required shall be raised by a tax on the taxable property in the District to be levied and collected as required by law.

PROPOSITION NO. 2 (PURCHASE AND FINANCING OF BUSES, RELATED EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES)
Shall the following resolutions be adopted?

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education (the “Board”) of the Orchard Park Central School District (the “District”) is hereby authorized to purchase school buses (and related equipment and supplies) for use in the transportation program of the District, including:  two (2) seventy-seven (77) passenger school buses at an estimated maximum cost of $197,000 each; four (4) seventy-seven (77) passenger freightliner school buses at an estimated maximum cost of $200,000 each;and two (2) thirty (30) passenger school buses at an estimated maximum cost of $103,000 each; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the sum of $1,400,000 (which includes certain up-front financing costs and is the total of the aforesaid estimated maximum costs), plus an amount for interest thereon, shall be funded by the imposition of a tax which is hereby authorized to be levied and collected in installments in such years and in such amounts as shall be determined by the Board and, in anticipation of such tax, (i) bonds or other obligations of the District are hereby authorized to be issued and (ii) the District shall be authorized to enter into lease or lease/purchase arrangements (having a term of up to five years) if approved by the Board in accordance with applicable statutes and regulations; and be it further,

RESOLVED, that New York State Transportation Aid funds expected to be received by the District are anticipated to offset a substantial part of the cost of the buses hereby authorized, and such funds shall, to the extent received, be applied to offset and reduce the amount of taxes herein authorized to be levied.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that a public hearing for the qualified voters of the District will be held on May 5, 2026, commencing at 7:00 p.m. at the, Orchard Park High School, 4040 Baker Road, Orchard Park, New York 14127, for the presentation of the District’s 2026-2027 budget.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that the Board will have prepared and completed a detailed statement in writing of the amount of money which will be required during the District’s 2026-2027 fiscal year for school purposes, specifying the several purposes and the amount for each. Such statement shall be available, upon request, to residents of the District during the period of seven (7) days before the budget hearing, the fourteen (14) days preceding the Annual Vote, and the day of the Annual Vote. Copies of the District’s proposed budget may be obtained during the timeframe set forth above at each schoolhouse in the District, and in the District Office, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding weekends or holidays.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that pursuant to District Policy 1210, optical scan voting machines will be used to record the votes on the Board election, the budget, and the other propositions presented, pursuant to the District’s Rules for the Use of Voting Machines (the “Rules”). Printed copies of the Rules are available at the office of the District Clerk located in the District Office, 2240 Southwestern Blvd., West Seneca, New York.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that pursuant to a rule adopted by the Board under §§2035 and 2008 of the Education Law, any referenda or propositions to amend the budget, or otherwise to be submitted for voting at the Annual Vote must comply with the Board’s adopted rules set forth in District Policy 1650. However, the Board will not entertain any petition to place before the voters any proposition the purpose of which is not within the powers of the voters to determine, or any proposition which fails to include a specific appropriation where the proposition requires the expenditure of monies. Printed copies of the policy are available at the office of the District Clerk located in the District Office, 2240 Southwestern Blvd., West Seneca, New York.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that applications for absentee ballots for the Annual Vote will be available at the office of the District Clerk.  Completed applications must be received by the District Clerk no later than seven (7) days before the Annual Vote if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or no later than the day before the Annual Vote if the ballot is to be issued personally to the voter at the office of the District Clerk.  Absentee ballots must be received by the District Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 19, 2026 to be canvassed and counted.  A list of all persons to whom absentee ballots shall have been issued will be available in the office of the District Clerk on each of the five (5) days prior to the Annual Vote, excluding Sunday, and will be posted at the polling place. Any qualified voter may challenge the acceptance of an absentee voter’s ballot of any person on such list, by making his challenge and the reasons therefor known to the Inspector of the Election before the close of the polls. 

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that applications for early mail ballots will be available at the office of the District Clerk and can be requested either in person or by letter. A letter request for an early mail ballot must be received by the office of the District Clerk no earlier than thirty (30) days before the election and no later than seven (7) days before the election. A voter requesting an early mail ballot by letter will be sent both an application form and a ballot. The completed application form and properly marked ballot from a person who requested them by mail must be received by the office of the District Clerk not later than 5:00 p.m. on May 19, 2026 to be canvassed and counted. An early mail ballot from a voter who requested it by letter will not the counted unless the completed application is returned with the ballot. All completed early mail ballots, whether requested in person or by mail, must be received in the office of the District Clerk by 5:00 p.m. on May 19, 2026. A list of all persons to whom early mail ballots shall have been issued will be available in the office of the District Clerk on each of the five (5) days prior to the Annual Vote, excluding Sunday, and will be posted at the polling place. Any qualified voter may challenge the acceptance of an early mail voter’s ballot of any person on such list, by making his challenge and the reasons therefor known to the Inspector of the Election before the close of the polls. 

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that military voters who are qualified voters of the District may apply for a military ballot by requesting an application from the District Clerk by mail to 2240 Southwestern Blvd., West Seneca, New York or by email to: cconnors@opschools.org.  For a military voter to be issued a military ballot, the District Clerk must have received a valid ballot application no later than 5:00 p.m. on April 23, 2026.  In a request for a military ballot application or ballot, the military voter may indicate their preference for receiving the application or ballot by mail, facsimile transmission or electronic mail. If no designation is indicated, the application and ballot will be transmitted by mail. Irrespective of the preferred method of transmission designated by a military voter, a military voter’s original military ballot application and military ballot must be returned by mail or in person to the office of the District Clerk and received no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, to be canvassed and counted.

Dated: March 10, 2026
BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Orchard Park Central School District
Town of Orchard Park, County of Erie
Cheryl A. Connors, District Clerk
2240 Southwestern Blvd
West Seneca, New York 14224