Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) – As schools in Western New York get back into the swing of the academic year ahead, budget talks are seemingly a year-round issue. And for many superintendents, rising costs are making for even tighter budgets each and every year.
Sweet Home Central School District superintendent Mike Ginestre told WBEN this past Friday they are running an extremely tight budget this year after needing to close a $2.5 million gap to balance the district’s budget last year.
“It’s scary out there right now when we’re talking about healthcare costs, transportation costs, utilities are out of control. So we budget for a certain amount, but all of those line items exceeded our budget,” said Ginestre with Brian Mazurowski and Susan Rose. “We ran a deficit, we’re using reserves to fill that deficit last year, and the past three years we’ve been doing that because of these uncontrollable costs that we’re mandated to do. So we’re running really tight this year. We’re going to try and stay as balanced as we possibly can.”…