09/04/2026
9/3/26 Ichabod Crane Budget memo from the Superintendent.
Budget and Finance Updates Community Forum 9/10
*Finances FAQ*
September 3, 2026
Dear Ichabod Crane Community,
Over the past several weeks, the Board of Education and district leadership have continued working to understand the full scope of the district’s financial situation and take the steps necessary to stabilize its finances.
We recognize the concern and uncertainty this situation has created for students, families and staff. While significant work remains ahead, we want to provide an update on where things stand today and what we expect moving forward.
On Tuesday evening, a news report on CBS6 stated the district has a $95 million deficit. As we shared with the community yesterday, $95 million is a deeply misleading representation of Ichabod Crane Central School District’s current financial situation. The figure cited in the report does not represent the District’s operating deficit on its operating budget – which is the year-to-year “budget” as most people understand it. This number includes accounting liabilities that school districts are required to report under GASB 75 standards. A major driver of these long-term liabilities is retiree health insurance obligations, known as Other Post-Employment Benefits, or OPEB. As is the case with every school district in New York State, these liabilities must be forecasted decades into the future and may run in the tens or hundreds of millions, but are not true “deficits” for a year-to-year operating budget.
Following this reporting, we had the opportunity to sit down with CBS6 and you can find the full interview here. We appreciate the opportunity to clarify and correct this information.
Below you will find updated information regarding staffing reductions, the scope of our work to date, and a Save the Date for an upcoming Community Forum.
Staffing and Program Reductions
As previously communicated to the school community, we have taken the steps necessary to stabilize the district for the 2026-27 school year and are ready to open school on Tuesday with that plan in place. We do not anticipate additional staffing reductions this school year. As we shared on Friday, the reductions recently implemented include the following:
1.0 Full-Time Equivalent (“FTE”) Assistant Principal
1.0 FTE Elementary Teacher
2.0 FTE HS Social Studies
0.7 FTE MS/HS Art
0.6 FTE MS/HS Music (vacant, will not be filled)
1.0 FTE Communications Specialist
1.0 FTE Clerk-Typist
These reductions will impact the K-5 STEAM program, the High School Discovering Computer Science course, High School Academic Intervention Services, and Middle School / High School Art and Music. Staffing has been adjusted in order to accommodate these reductions across buildings and departments.
The district has also reduced consultant contracts, eliminated mid-day freshman transportation on the first day of school, reduced field trips by 20%, and reduced spending on technology materials, supplies and equipment.
Understanding the Full Scope
We know that our community is anxious to know the final deficit figure, as are we. At the same time, however, we are still in the process of determining the full scope of this situation, which is pending the completion of the 2025-26 school year audit, which will be complete by mid-October, and a forthcoming forensic audit.
As a part of these efforts, the district is exploring additional funding sources and will begin advocating for legislative options that could provide greater flexibility, including potential borrowing authority. This work will be done in collaboration with our partners at QUESTAR III BOCES, NYSED, and the Office of the NYS Comptroller.
Community Forum
The district will hold a Community Forum on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in the Ichabod Crane High School Auditorium.
The forum will provide an opportunity for community members to receive the latest updates and submit questions.
As a reminder, we have created a form where community members can submit their questions and we encourage you to submit any additional questions that you have in advance of next week’s forum. We appreciate those who have submitted thus far and, in response, we have updated the Financial FAQ on the district website to address questions received from community members.
We understand that uncertainty about school finances can be difficult, particularly at the beginning of a new school year. Our commitment is to address these challenges responsibly, communicate what we know as information becomes available, and keep the needs of our students at the center of our decisions.
Thank you for your continued patience, engagement, and support of the Ichabod Crane Central School District.
Sincerely,
Marie Digirolamo
Superintendent of Schools
Cybil Howard, Interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO) E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 518-758-7575, Ext. 3009 — Budget and Finance Updates (Actualizac ...
