Rochester school board adopts $1B budget for 2024-25 school year

The Rochester Board of Education voted to adopt a roughly $1 billion budget for next school year on Tuesday.

It was a 5-2 split. Board members James Patterson and Jacquelin Griffin voted down the budget.

“There could have been a lot of cuts that were not made,” Griffin said ahead of the vote. “We have people here that are not doing the job they should do and there's nobody holding them accountable. Until that happens, we are not going to have the outcomes that we need.”

Board president Cynthia Elliott was among those in favor of the budget.

“We are fiduciary agents of this budget. ... We have to ensure that we are responsible to the taxpayers,” Elliott said. “It is important that we keep in mind that we have constrained resources, and we have to ensure that the resources that we are providing are resources that really have the impact around our board goals and the strategic plan."

The newly adopted budget accounts for cuts in more than 50 Central Office positions, including communications, and fewer building substitutes than last year.

Superintendent Carmine Peluso helped design the budget, which will carry the district into the implementation phase of a reconfiguration plan, reducing the district’s footprint in the city as five school buildings close.

State Monitor Jaime Alicea said he was pleased with the budget, and the process of developing it — which he said was better than last year.

“There's support for literacy in the district, there’s support for special education, bilingual education, occupational education, CTE,” Alicea said. “So it is a budget that is intended to support the students and the staff and families in the Rochester City School District.”

The budget includes increased funding for more bilingual teachers and special education staff, as well as social services and psychological support.

The budget also includes greater resources for literacy education, including adding reading specialist positions for elementary and middle schools and a position for an appointed executive director for integrated literacy. There are also curriculum updates for reading programs.

“We know that academic excellence includes cultivating a community of empathy, equity, and accountability,” Peluso said in a statement. “We will work tirelessly to realize our goals and empower students to succeed beyond graduation.”

About 80% of the budget revenue comes from state aid, while 13% comes from the City of Rochester.