Budget & Finance

The Business Office of the Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School District is responsible for the proper management and accounting of nearly $25 million of funding from local, state and federal sources.

The Business Office, located in the Transportation building across the street from the schools, oversees the finances of not only the General Fund, but also the Special Aid Fund for grants, the School Lunch Fund for food services, and the Capital Fund for school building and property improvements.

Day-to-Day Operations of the Business Office

• Payroll for the employees of the district
• Purchasing and accounts payable for supplies, materials, contractual services, and utilities
• Employee benefits administration
• BOCES services coordination
• Collection of property taxes
• Accounting for extracurricular activities
• Financial record-keeping and audit preparation
• Records management
• Property and liability insurance administration
• Capital assets acquisition and management
• Filing financial reports to state agencies
• Budget development and management

Current Operating Budget

2025-26 Total Budget: $24,737,328
Tax levy increase: 3.3%
Spending decrease from previous years: (-$1,051,934)

Budget Development Calendar

The Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School District 2026-27 budget vote will be held on Tuesday, May 19. The vote will 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the elementary cafeteria.

(Updated as of February 2026)

• March: Superintendent’s budget presentation
• March: Budget workshop
• March: Board of Education budget workshop
• April 3: Legal publication of the proposed budget vote date (45 days prior to vote)
• April: Board consideration of budget for adoption
• April-May: Budget discussions throughout the communities of Berne, Knox, and Westerlo
• April 20: Final date for submission of Board Candidate Positions (30 days prior to budget vote) & Budget propositions finalized
• April 23-May 5: Publication, printing, and distribution of budget newsletter
• May 5: Budget hearing-7PM
• May 19: Budget vote day – Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Voter Information

Polling Location

School budget votes and Board of Education elections take place annually on the third Tuesday in May. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Elementary School cafeteria.

Voter Eligibility

Any U.S. citizen who is 18 years of age or older and a resident of the Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School District for at least 30 days prior to the date of the vote is eligible to cast a ballot in the budget vote. But first you must be registered. Those who are registered for the general elections are automatically registered for school votes.

For any questions on how to register to vote, email District Clerk: Anne Farnam or call (518) 872-1293.

Absentee Ballots

You can still vote using an absentee ballot. Absentee ballots will be issued, upon request, to residents of the school district who will be out of town or unable to vote in person due to illness or disability or have a fear of contracting COVID-19. To vote via absentee ballot, district residents must first complete and sign an absentee ballot application. Applications for absentee ballots are available in the superintendent’s office.

If the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, the district clerk must receive the completed application no later than 3 p.m., 7 days before vote day and election day. Applications for an absentee ballot that are delivered in person will be accepted until 5 p.m. the day before vote day. All absentee ballots must be returned to District Clerk Anne Farnam no later than 5 p.m. on Election Day.

Parking on Vote Day

The parking lot in front of the Elementary School will be cleared for voters. Please park in this lot for easy access to the polls, which will be in the elementary cafeteria.

Vote Results

Polls are open on vote day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Votes will be counted after that time and immediately announced on the district’s website.

Understanding Your District’s Tax Cap/Limit

What is the New York State property tax?

The Three Tax Levy Numbers

With all the talk of New York’s “2 percent tax cap,” it may come as a surprise to learn that each school district presents three separate tax levy numbers every year in order to comply with the law.

And chances are good that none of these numbers will be exactly 2 percent. In fact, in 2014 only two of the state’s nearly 700 school districts had a 2 percent “cap.” That’s because the 2 percent you hear about is just one part of a complex formula that school districts must use to calculate two of their tax levy numbers, the tax levy limit and the maximum allowable tax levy. These two numbers—that establish more of a threshold than a cap—help districts determine their proposed tax levy.

Tax Levy

Essentially, the tax levy limit tells a school district how much voter support it will need to pass a budget with its proposed tax levy. For school districts, the tax levy limit is the highest allowable tax levy (before exclusions) that a school district can propose as part of its annual budget and need the approval of only a simple majority of voters (50 percent plus 1) to pass the budget. If a district proposes a budget with a tax levy amount (before exclusions) above this limit, it will need the approval of a supermajority of voters (60 percent) to pass the budget.

School districts are required to report their calculated tax levy limit to the state comptroller by March 1 each year.

Maximum Allowable Tax Levy

The maximum allowable tax levy is the tax levy limit PLUS certain exclusions. Taxes levied to fund the following expenses are excluded from the tax levy limit:

• Voter-approved local capital expenditures.
• Increases in the state-mandated employer contribution rates for teacher and employee pension systems that exceed two percentage points.
• Court orders/judgments resulting from tort actions of any amount that exceeds 5 percent of a district’s current levy.

A school district adds these exclusions to its tax levy limit without triggering the need for 60 percent voter approval.

Proposed Tax Levy

The third tax levy number is arguably the most important. It’s the tax levy called for by a school district’s proposed budget. By definition, the tax levy is the total amount of money to be raised locally by a municipality (i.e., school district) after factoring in all other available revenues.

If a school district’s proposed tax levy minus exclusions is less than or equal to the district’s calculated tax levy limit, the district will need the approval of a simple majority of voters to pass its budget. If the proposed tax levy minus exclusions is greater than the district’s calculated tax levy limit, 60 percent voter approval is needed.

STAR Program Savings

New York State’s School Tax Relief Program, or STAR, provides partial school property tax savings to eligible homeowners. Most New Yorkers who own and live in their homes are eligible for STAR savings on their primary residences. Because the STAR program is not a district program, a taxpayer’s STAR savings are not factored into a school budget.

More information about STAR can be found on the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance STAR Resource Center webpage.