BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- Two public forums will be held this winter as Massena Central School officials continue to work on the district's 2025-26 budget.

The two forums, which are not required, will be held Feb. 13 and March 20 for the public to voice their opinions on the proposed budget.

School officials say a required budget hearing will be held May 8, with district residents taking to the polls on May 20.

Though board of education members had considered cutting the public forums, they have instead opted to continue with the forums that became commonplace under former Superintendent Pat Brady.

Board of Education President Paul Haggett said he originally discussed his concerns with Superintendent Ron Burke when the idea of eliminating the forums was originally broached.

“There is no requirement to have public forums. I actually asked Mr. Burke about that this year when we were doing budget development. There were no public forums scheduled and I questioned it and received assurances, and I was pointed to education law that said no, you have to have a public hearing. You don’t have to have public forums,” Haggett said.

Haggett said he previously believed the forums were a requirement when he was drafting the Finance Committee charter but later learned they were never legally required.

Despite that, district officials say they plan to keep two forums in place for public feedback as budget preparations are in full swing.

Meetings with administration and initial reviews have been conducted, along with a review of fund balance usage, officials said.

Next up will be the Finance Committee's review of the budget calendar and budget strategies, along with a review of athletics, central services, debt service, extracurriculars, general support, technology and transportation.

Following that, the Finance Committee will review other aspects including employee benefits, staffing, special education and school lunch budget, among others.

The committee will meet again on Feb. 13 prior to the board of education's regular meeting, during which time they will review a draft budget, the projected fund balance, tax cap calculation, revenues and reserves.

An updated draft budget will be reviewed on March 20 prior to the regular board meeting.

Following that, the board will likely adopt a proposed budget on April 14, with a hearing set to be held on May 8.

The budget vote will then be held on May 20 from 12-8 p.m. at the Massena Community Center located at 61 Beach Street.