Goshen schools trim budget, lower tax levy before June 16 revote

Goshen Central School District trimmed its 2026-27 budget and lowered the tax levy after voters turned down the original plan on May 19, setting up a June 16 revote that could determine whether the district keeps operating on a revised spending path or moves to a contingency budget with deeper cuts. The revised proposal totals $101,033,650, down $16,801 from the defeated $101,050,451 budget, and it cuts the proposed tax levy increase from 3.06% to 2.80%.

If voters approve the plan, the district would preserve the new budget as adopted and avoid the sharper reductions that come with a contingency budget. If it fails again, the district said a contingency budget would take effect, and The Chronicle reported that could mean about $1.6 million in additional cuts, forcing harder choices about staffing, programming and services for students and families in Goshen.

The district also said it made targeted reductions in response to community feedback. The superintendent’s budget line fell from $285,000 in the May 20 proposal to $260,000 in the June 16 version, and the district said it also cut non-instructional salaries, legal contractual fees and administrative salaries. Interim Superintendent Thomas Bongiovi has been the public face of the budget push, explaining the revised plan as the board tries to win support after the first defeat.

The revote will run from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, at the Main Street Administration Building, 227 Main Street in Goshen. The district’s timeline also included a June 1 budget adoption, a June 8 public hearing and a budget notice mailing on June 9 or June 10, giving residents a short turnaround to review the revised spending plan before voting.

The May 19 election showed that voters were willing to split their decisions. They rejected the budget by 559 no votes to 497 yes votes, but approved the bus proposition 581 to 472. In the same election, Roy Reese and John Sullivan won board seats, with Reese filling the extended seat tied to the vacancy previously held by Ashley Salte and Sullivan winning a three-year term. That result suggested broad concern about spending, not a wholesale rejection of district leadership, which makes the June 16 revote a direct test of how much local households are willing to pay to avoid larger cuts later.