Mohonasen votes on 2024-2025 school budget

ROTTERDAM, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Public schools across New York State are holding their annual budget votes Tuesday. In Mohonasen, Superintendent Shannon Shine told NEWS10 how the district has approached this year's financial planning amidst economic challenges.

"Inflation, the rising costs of everything, and what they call shrinkflation—you're paying more but getting less." said Shine, addressing the economic pressures faced by the community. 

Key highlights in the Mohonasen budget proposal are the purchase of four new school buses, an expansion of the number of social workers, and the addition of a third clinician to support student well-being.

"The bulk of any school district budget is always going to be staffing and their compensation and benefits," Shine explained.

Voters told NEWS 10 that a  pressing question has been whether the influx of migrant children last year has impacted the allocation of funds and the quality of education for other students.

"We have enough money budgeted that we're not reducing or diluting programming and offerings for any of our students due to a new group of students who we didn't anticipate coming in," said Shine.

The conversation also touched on New York State's plan to transition to a 100% zero-emission electric school bus fleet by 2035. Shine expressed concerns about the feasibility of this plan: "we don't have the infrastructure. We don't have the money. We don't have the reliability".

The results of today's budget votes will determine the direction of funding and resources for the coming school year in districts across the state.