By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
The Olean City School District held a public hearing Tuesday on the proposed $58.9 million budget for 2026-27.
District business manager Jenny Bilotta told the group of about 25 people attending the annual meeting on the proposed budget it is $943,759, or 1.63% more than the current budget, but the tax levy remains unchanged at $14,026,979.
The estimated Basic STAR exemption savings was calculated at $524.95.
Bilotta said the district has kept costs down in part by attrition, not replacing teachers who retire or uncertified individuals who leave the district. She said it was a goal of the district not to cut staff this year.
“We are fortunate that we are still able to offer all of the programs for the students,” Bilotta said. The district’s 9-1 student to teacher ratio is very low compared to other area districts and the state average.
Bilotta broke down expenditures by administrative, program and capital components.
The 2026-27 administrative budget was up almost $500,000 to $7.9 million, program costs up $1.7 million to $41.5 million — including $14.1 million for instruction — and capital costs down about $1.2 million to $9.2 million.
Bilotta said the district’s revenues will get a boost in the budget from businesses with payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreements this year.
Cimolai-HY will make a PILOT payment of $123,489, the Olean Municipal Housing Authority will pay $40,000, ETJM Properties will pay $34,481 Sunny Olean will pay $20,000 and Steel Winds will pay $17,408. The total with several other smaller PILOTs is $276,576.
The proposed budget also allocates $3.9 million for debt service.
Among the questions from the audience was one from a woman who asked why Superintendent Genelle Morris’ salary was increasing from $211,080 to $222,510. Bilotta replied that the raise was in the superintendent‘s contract with the Board of Education. The superintendent, she said, refused to return her phone calls.
Bilotta offered that her salary is contained in the Finance section — $121.658 and under Transportation Services, $27,439.
District residents who are registered to vote can vote on the budget on May 19 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Music Suite at the Olean Intermediate Middle School.
Besides the budget, two school board members will be elected to succeed Julio Fuentes and Mary Hirsch-Schena, who did not seek re-election.
Candidate Stephen Carlson addressed the audience from the floor, while Mary Fay, who was out of town, submitted a video. They are unopposed.
In her video remarks, Fay cited a loss of 300 Olean students to area schools due to safety concerns, students afraid to come to school, bullying and physical assaults. She called for enforcing the student code of conduct and using more paper and pencils than electronic devices for learning.
In addition to the first proposition on the budget, voters will vote on a second proposition to increase and extend the district’s vehicle purchase reserve fund from $2 million to $10 million, and extend it for 10 years.
Any fund balance at the end of a school year can be allotted to the vehicle reserve fund, or to other uses by the Board of Education.
This will allow the district to manage its bus and vehicle purchases as the transportation program has done in the past. Bilotta said the district’s fleet does not include any electric buses — yet. The buses are on an eight-year replacement cycle.
A $100,000 annual capital budget is included to continue replacing light bulbs in the Intermediate Middle School with LED lights, Bilotta said.
