Proposition 2: Expanded bus eligibility

450–500 MORE K-5 STUDENTS ON BUSES

This proposal would allow the district to expand transportation services for elementary students (kindergarten-grade 5). This would include students in private, parochial and charter schools in Albany in addition to the district’s 12 elementary schools.

If voters approve this proposal and the 2026-27 budget, the district would lower the elementary eligibility limit to one mile, down from the current limit of 1.5 miles. Eligibility guidelines for middle and high school students would remain at 1.5 miles.

To fund this expansion of transportation services, the 2026-27 budget proposal includes $1.51 million that would support 11 additional buses. This would provide transportation for approximately 450-500 more of the city’s youngest learners. 

The district currently transports about 3,000 elementary students city-wide, which includes all students who have an Individualized Education Plan requiring specialized transportation.

The district is proposing this transportation expansion due to new criteria added to the state’s Child Safety Zone law and regulations in recent years  related to crime statistics and vacant properties.

The district commissioned an independent study earlier this school year to determine the potential for Child Safety Zones under these new criteria. The report indicated that the city meets the state’s guidelines to qualify as a Child Safety Zone.

A Child Safety Zone allows a school district to receive reimbursement from the state for transportation below 1.5 miles. 

Our district’s transportation reimbursement rate is 80%, which means that with state reimbursement through Child Safety Zones, the net annual cost to the district for this expansion of elementary transportation would be about $302,000 annually in future years.

Proposition 3: District-wide facilities project

ZERO ADDITIONAL TAX-LEVY INCREASE

This proposal would deliver a $98 million facilities project that would include work at every school with no additional impact on taxes. 

More than 90% of the project would be covered by a combination of state building aid and grants, including a $10.1 million NYSERDA grant to assist with HVAC projects at three schools. 

The district’s share of the project – up to $9.3 million – would be covered through a Capital Reserve Fund.

“This proposal would deliver nearly $100 million worth of work on some of our city’s most important public infrastructure, and it would not raise taxes on our citizens while also uplifting our students,” said Board of Education member Hassan Elminyawi, chair of the board’s Facilities Committee. 

The largest portion of the work – $40.8 million, or a little more than 40% of the total investment – would bring all large instructional spaces to a modern, high-quality standard. 

This includes auditoriums, cafeterias and cafetoriums, libraries and media centers, gyms and playgrounds.

Other broad areas of work would include safety and security projects such as secure vestibules, updating fire alarm and PA systems, and roofing.

All 20 district buildings would have work completed through this project. 

Check out the table below for building-by-building details. 

Visit our main budget page for a complete list of proposed work and a list of frequently asked questions about the project.

Following a planning and design process, and approval from the State Education Department, work would be anticipated to start in 2028.

The entire project would have no additional impact on taxes.

How your school tax bill is calculated

The City School District of Albany is proposing a tax-levy increase of 1.22% for 2026-27. It is less than the district’s tax-cap figure of 4.80% for next year. This is the ninth time in the last 11 years that the proposed increase has been less than 1.4%. The district's average tax-levy increase over the past decade has been eight-tenths of a percent.

The school tax levy is one of four factors that contributes to the final calculation of school taxes each year, and the only factor that the district controls. The other factors are:

1. Change to the homestead Adjusted Base Proportions: The City of Albany sets this, which splits the levy into two parts: homestead (paid by homeowners) and non-homestead (paid by commercial property owners). The city set these values in fall 2025, and they are used to proportionally divide the total tax levy between the homestead and non-homestead values to determine the final tax rates for each category. 
2. Your property assessment and your exemptions: The assessment is an estimate of the value of how much a property would sell for under normal conditions. The city sets this during the summer each year. The city reassessed all properties in 2024 and no additional city-wide reassessment is planned this year. Certain exemptions are available. For example, by law, not-for-profit entities are generally exempt from property taxes.
3. NYS School Tax Relief Program (STAR): New York’s STAR program pays a portion of school tax bills for owner-occupied homes. For more information, please visit the STAR website.

Once all factors are set, the final tax rate determines how much of the tax levy each property owner pays. Based on assessed property values and the district’s proposed tax-levy increase, the estimated change for a typical residential property valued at $243,750 would be an increase in taxes of $47 for the year. 

Residential taxpayers also may be eligible for the New York State Homeowner Tax Rebate Credit, a percentage of the existing STAR benefit. Basic STAR recipients with income below $250,000 and Enhanced STAR recipients are eligible.

Estimated school tax bill for a typical taxpayer whose home is valued at $243,750:

Two open board seats

Two seats on the City School District of Albany Board of Education will be up for election May 19. 

The terms of Vice President Tabetha Wilson and Secretary Ellen Krejci expire at the end of June.

Candidates are listed below in the order they will appear on the ballot:

• Tabetha Wilson
• Serena White-Lake
• Quinn Lee

You can download this .pdf to read personal statements from each candidate. You can also watch the May 18 virtual candidate forum.

The two candidates receiving the most votes May 19 will begin four-year terms on July 1.

Please note, the print version of Capital Education went to press prior to the April 29 deadline for prospective candidates to submit petitions.

Absentee and mail-in voting

The City School District of Albany sends absentee ballots to people the Albany County Board of Elections designates as having a permanent disability or who are in the military. All residents also have the option to vote by mail.

Early voting by mail works much the same way that absentee voting does. The main difference is that the vote-by-mail option is available to everyone. 
You can call (518) 475-6015 and ask to have an absentee or mail-in vote application mailed to you, or download one from our main budget page. You also can pick one up at any district building or Albany Public Library branch.

If you want an absentee or vote-by-mail ballot sent to your home, the district clerk must receive your completed application at least seven days before the vote – by Tuesday, May 12 at 4 p.m. 
If you want to pick up your absentee or vote-by-mail ballot in-person at the district headquarters in Academy Park, you must have your completed application to the clerk by 4 p.m. the day before the budget vote – Monday, May 18.

All absentee and vote-by-mail ballots must be received in the clerk’s office by 5 p.m. on the day of the vote – Tuesday, May 19.

What if the budget is not approved?

If voters do not approve the budget May 19, state law gives the Board of Education three options:

• Put up the same proposal for another vote;
• Present a revised budget proposal for voter consideration; or
• Adopt a contingency budget.

If the board opted for a second vote and it also failed, state law would require the district to adopt a contingency budget.

For 2026-27, a contingency budget would be $369,672,654 and would hold the tax levy to its current level as required by state law. 

In addition, under a contingency budget the administrative component cannot exceed that of the previous year. The district would need to eliminate $1,797,258 from the proposed budget to meet that requirement.

The state closely regulates any district operating under a contingency budget. It prohibits spending on student supplies, equipment and certain raises, to name a few items. Community groups also are required to pay to use school buildings when a district is operating under a contingency budget.

This would mean that, in addition to the prohibited spending noted above, the district would have to consider cuts to staffing and programs to meet the new contingency requirements.

Library vote info

In addition to school-related items on this year’s ballot, residents will be asked to vote on the Albany Public Library’s 2026-27 budget proposal and Board of Trustees election.

The library’s proposed budget for 2026-27 is $9,661,856 and will appear as Proposition 4 on the ballot. 

There also are three library trustee positions up for election this year. 

For more information, contact Stephanie Simon at (518) 708-3912 or visit the library's website.