Anatomy of a School Budget: The Tax Cap

In this recurring feature, we will break down the basics of a school budget and go into further detail on the 2026-2027 proposed school budget, leading up to the budget vote and Board of Education election on May 19, beginning at 7 AM in the high school gymnasium.

Roughly 700 school districts across New York are currently in the process of planning and proposing budgets for the 2026-2027 school year. Their budgets are made up of multiple funding sources, including local property taxes and state aid. In Dobbs Ferry, these two sources comprise approximately 93% of our total budget revenues. The state aid that we receive is directly tied to student enrollment. As enrollment declines, state (and federal) aid decreases, requiring a district to rely on other revenue sources, including property taxes, reducing expenditures, or a combination of the two to balance the budget. 

Property taxes are determined by a number of factors, many of which are not controlled by the Board of Education. The Board’s authority is limited to setting the tax levy, which is the amount of property tax revenue needed to support the proposed budget. The tax levy is influenced by the district’s tax cap, a multi-step calculation set by New York State. A common misconception is that the tax cap is always 2%; but this is not the case, as the 2% factor is only one component of the calculation (see slide 17 HERE for the actual calculation). The tax cap for the district this year is 3.49%. If the board chose to go above that amount, as some districts are doing, a 60% yes vote would be required. Staying at 3.49%, however, requires a simple majority of votes.

So what does a 3.49% tax levy mean for your property tax bill? This results in a projected tax rate (the value set by the town as the amount homeowners pay per $1,000 of the assessed value of their home) of $19.23, is down from the current year rate of $19.97. This projected decrease is due to changes in property assessments, including market adjustments, new construction, and renovations.

We will share more details in the next edition of the Eagle Eye, but you can find more information on our budget information page on our website.

Presenters gave students a glimpse into their careers at the Seventh Grade Career Day. Each presenter was a parent who volunteered their time to give students an idea of what they do for a living. Seventh graders had the opportunity to hear from a New York City construction estimator, a senior director at Adobe, a science editor for a research journal, and several others. They heard about the honest experiences of people in technical fields, white-collar workers, business, finance and more.

High School Musical Pippin Available Online

Thank you to everyone who made the 2026 Dobbs Ferry High School musical, Pippin, such a huge success!

Click here for our photo coverage of the event.

Click here for a word from two of our actors.

Click here for a recording of the show.

Jr. Green Team Cleans Up

Springhurst Elementary students are taking stewardship of their school seriously. The Jr. Green team, under the guidance of Sara Sellitti, along with middle school, high school and adult volunteers, got together to clean up the green space across the parking lot in front of Springhurst Elementary School as part of the Habitat Restoration Project.

Equipped with buckets and trash pickup arms, the team scoured the greenery for litter, helping keep our green spaces green and trash-free.

While information has never been more accessible for students than it is today, you just can’t beat learning about real history from the ones who lived through it. Veterans of the Vietnam War, Jim Schmidt and Emmet Band, paid students a virtual visit following their reading of the Vietnam War book, The Things They Carried. Students prepared and asked the veterans about their experiences and perceptions of the book and media on the topic.

“Meeting with Jim and Emmet was an invaluable experience for the students,” said teacher Thomas Falconetti. ”They were able to put faces to the young men who were forced to fight in Vietnam, and they were also able to make connections to the stories in the novel, The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien. In some ways, my students were very surprised by the way these men look back at their experience with moral regret, much like O'Brien's character in the novel. This remote visit has prompted the young men and women in my classes to think about the metafictional aspect of the novel and its impact on the nature of truth, memory, and writing.”

Dobbs Ferry School District

505 Broadway

Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522

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