Budget news articles
April 25, 2025 - Board of Education adopts 2025-26 budget proposal
March 31, 2025 - Navigating challenges while prioritizing students: a responsible approach to 2025-26 budget development
Leading up to the annual school budget vote and board of education member election, the district will present important updates and information to the board of education. To receive copies of the presentations and other budget-related news, subscribe to ParentSquare to receive notifications in this category.
Budget documents
District Dispatch budget newsletter
Budget FAQ
Budget meetings
April 29 In-Person Meeting at 5 PM Roxboro Road Middle School (300 Bernard Street, Mattydale)
May 1 VIRTUAL MEETING at 7 PM (Join meeting at www.nscsd.org/meet1)
May 6 VIRTUAL MEETING at 6 PM (Join meeting at www.nscsd.org/meet2)
May 7 In-Person Meeting at 7 PM Cicero Elementary School (5979 Route 31, Cicero)
May 13 In-Person Meeting at 6 PM Jerome F. Melvin Admin. Office (5355 West Taft Road, N. Syracuse)
Watch a recording of the public hearing here.
Budget propositions
| PROPOSITION #1 2025-26 SCHOOL BUDGET | North Syracuse Central School District residents will vote Tuesday, May 20 on a proposed $224,048,589 spending plan for the 2025-26 school year. It calls for a $3,045,302/2.91% tax levy increase. |
| PROPOSITION #2 VEHICLE BONDING PROPOSITION Each day, district buses safely transport thousands of students to school and home, and back and forth to extracurricular activities and events. All school buses must pass a rigorous state inspection. Maintaining an updated fleet of vehicles helps reduce the cost of repairs and avoid problems associated with rusting frames that prevent the vehicles from passing New York state inspections. |
The 2025–26 vehicle proposition includes the following purchases at a total cost not to exceed $2,396,063:
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| PROPOSITION #3 PROPOSITION TO USE GRANT FUNDING FOR VOTER-APPROVED POOL PROJECT | Proposition #3 asks voters to authorize the NSCSD to use a $3 million grant for the CNS High School pool project. Originally approved by voters in December 2021, the project includes the construction of an approximately 14,500-square-foot addition to the high school to house an indoor pool and related facilities. Due to higher-than-anticipated construction costs, Assemblyman Al Stirpe has secured an additional $3 million in funding for the district’s aquatic facility. This funding will help address cost challenges related to inflation and the competitive construction market. Approval of this proposition would allow the district to utilize the grant. There will be no additional cost to the local taxpayers - no impact on the tax levy. |
| PROPOSITION #4 LIBRARY PROPOSITION (TOWN OF SALINA ONLY) | Each year, residents of the Town of Salina have the opportunity to vote on the Salina Free Library proposition. This proposition is only available for Town of Salina residents. The 2025 proposition asks voters to approve an increase from $510,565 to $524,861 with the amount to be raised by levy of a tax upon the taxable property of the district located in the Town of Salina in accordance with Section 259 of the Education Law. |
Board of Education Candidates
The Board of Education is the official policy-making body of the North Syracuse Central School District. The Board is composed of nine members who are elected by District voters to three-year terms. Members receive no salary for serving on the Board. The terms of three Board members expire each June 30 and those members may seek re-election at the annual budget vote. This year there are three candidates running for three vacant seats due to the expiration of terms. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be elected to three-year terms (July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2028).
Each Board of Education candidate is responsible for providing information for his or her own biography. The District does not endorse one candidate over another and reserves the right to edit biographies for space purposes. Candidate biographies are listed alphabetically below. and candidate pictures are published if supplied.
Board of Education Candidate Profiles
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Robert Crabtree is serving his fourth term on the NSCSD School Board, having previously served from 2009–2015, including as Vice President from 2013–2015. He returned to the Board in 2019 and has contributed to the Legislative (Chair), Budget and Facilities committees. He also serves as President of the OCM BOCES Board, where he has been active for nine years on the Facilities, Audit (Chair) and Career & Technical committees. Mr. Crabtree is a member of both the Onondaga County and New York State School Boards Associations and received the Onondaga-Madison School Board Achievement Award in 2017. A retired North Syracuse elementary teacher of 36 years, Mr. Crabtree was recognized as the 1988 Teacher of the Year and received several honors for excellence in teaching and innovation. He was the subject of three NYS Assembly resolutions recognizing his contributions to education. He continues to serve the community as a longtime CNS Optimist Club member and advisor, an active member and food pantry coordinator at Immanuel Lutheran Church and a 15-year volunteer with North Area Meals on Wheels. His community service has been honored with awards from NYSUT and the Plank Road Chamber of Commerce |
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Matthew Hermann is seeking reelection for a third term on the Board of Education where he has served since July 2019. He currently serves on the Board’s Legislative and Facilities committees. Mr. Hermann has lived in the district for the past 58 years and resides in North Syracuse with his wife, Carol Guido. Matthew has three adult children, Jordan, Eric and Sean. Mr. Hermann is employed by OCM BOCES as a project manager where he supervises multiple technology teams and supports various school districts. Matthew graduated from Cicero High School and went to Onondaga Community College where he earned Associates Degrees in Administration of Justice and Computer Engineering. He also holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Computer/Electronic Engineering from SUNY Polytechnic. |
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Amanda Sugrue is seeking reelection for a second term on the NSCSD Board of Education. Mrs. Sugrue has lived in the district for 26 years and has served on the Board since July 2022. She is also a member of the Board’s Executive Committee. She resides in Clay with her husband, Dennis, a 1993 CNS graduate; daughter, Grace, a 2023 CNS graduate and freshman at Syracuse University; and daughter, Sophie, a CNS class of 2025 student. Mrs. Sugrue has volunteered in the district helping with the Fall Play, Spring Musical, NSJH Musical, GRMS Musical, Girls Wrestling, Girls Swimming and Diving, and in the classroom and library at KWS Bear Road Elementary School. Mrs. Sugrue graduated from Liverpool High School in 1994 and from Albany College of Pharmacy in 1999. She is a pharmacist at Wegmans, where she has worked for 34 years. |
Are you interested in becoming a Board of Education Member?
Everything you need to know about school budgets:
Voting
Are you registered to vote?
In order to vote in North Syracuse Central School District elections, you must be a United States citizen, 18 years of age or older and meet the following qualifications:
- A resident of the school District for at least 30 days prior to the vote;
- Not under sentence for a felony conviction and not adjudged mentally incompetent;
- Registered to vote in Onondaga County or the North Syracuse Central School District.
Voter Registration
If you are not yet registered to vote, you can register at the Office of the District Clerk (5355 West Taft Road, North Syracuse, New York) between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. any day when the office is open for business. Contact the District Clerk's Office at (315) 218-2131.
If you prefer to register to vote through the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, click here.
Click here to learn more about voter registration in Onondaga County.
Absentee Ballots/Mail In Voting
All qualified voters in the North Syracuse Central School District are eligible to vote with a mail in ballot. The district is accepting applications for both mail in voting and absentee ballots.
Polling Locations
*NOTE Change in location! In May 2023, North Syracuse Central School District voters approved a change of polling location for residents living NORTH of 481. This group of voters will now vote at the Michael J. Bragman Stadium at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.
Budget Presentations/Materials
