Public hearing and vote on the school district's budget for 2026-2027.

WYOMING COUNTY

LEGAL NOTICE



YORKSHIRE-PIONEER CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

NOTICE OF BUDGET HEARING AND ANNUAL SCHOOL DISTRICT MEETING AND VOTE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the public hearing for qualified voters of the Yorkshire-Pioneer Central School District (the "District") will be held on Tuesday evening, May 5, 2026, in the Board Room, at the District's Senior High School, 12145 County Line Road, Yorkshire, New York, at 5:30 PM for the presentation of the District's 2026-2027 budget.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Annual School District Meeting and Vote (the "Annual Vote") of the District will be held Tuesday, May 19, 2026 at the District's Senior High School, 12145 County Line Road, Yorkshire, New York from 6:30 AM to 8:30 PM to vote, by electronic scan voting machine, for the purposes of (i) voting on the District's budget for the fiscal year 2026-2027, (ii) electing two members of the Board of Education of the District (the "Board"), (iii) establishing a capital reserve fund, and (iv) transacting such other business as may be authorized by law.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that an election for members of the Board shall be held to fill two (2) at-large positions on the Board consisting of the following: two five (5) year terms (resulting from the expiration of the terms of Wendy Warner Burch and Katherine Uhteg). The candidates with the two highest vote totals will be elected to five-year terms commencing July 1, 2026, and ending on June 30, 2031.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that all candidates for the office of member of the Board shall be nominated by petition. Each petition shall be directed to the District Clerk, shall be signed by at least 25 qualified voters of the District, shall state the name and residence of each signer, and shall state the name and residence of the candidate. Each petition must be filed in the Office of the Clerk of the District between the hours of 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM, by not later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 20, 2026. Petitions are now available and may be obtained at the office of the District Clerk located at 12145 County Line Road, Yorkshire, New York 14173.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the qualified voters of the District shall be entitled to vote at said annual meeting and election. A qualified voter is one who is (1) a citizen of the United States of America, (2) eighteen (18) years of age or older, (3) resident within the District for a period of thirty (30) days next preceding the annual meeting and election and (4) not otherwise disqualified from voting in school district elections. The District may require all persons offering to vote at the annual meeting and election to provide one form of proof of residency pursuant to Education Law Section 2018-c. Such form may include a driver's license, a non-driver identification card, a utility bill or a voter registration card, upon offer of proof of residency the District may also require all persons offering to vote to provide their signatures, printed names and addresses.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that pursuant to District Policy 1220, electronic scan voting machines will be used to record the vote on the budget, on any additional proposition(s) that may be put forward properly by the Board or otherwise, and on the election of members of the Board.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that voting at the Annual Vote shall consist of voting on the following propositions, and any other proposition that may be authorized by law and the rules of the Board:

PROPOSITION NO. 1 - 2026-2027 Budget

Shall the following resolution be adopted?

RESOLVED, that the budget for the Yorkshire-Pioneer Central School District (the "District") for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027, as presented by the Board of Education, is hereby approved and adopted and the required funds therefor are hereby appropriated and the necessary real property taxes required shall be raised by a tax on the taxable property in the District to be levied and collected as required by law.

PROPOSITION NO. 2 - ESTABLISHMENT OF A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS RESERVE FUND, 2026

Shall the following resolution be adopted?

RESOLVED, that the Board of Education (the "Board") of the Yorkshire-Pioneer Central School District, Cattaraugus County, New York (the "District") is hereby authorized to establish a capital improvements reserve fund pursuant to Section 3651 of the Education Law of the State of New York (the "Fund"); that the Fund shall be known as the "Capital Improvements Reserve Fund, 2026" of the District; that the Fund shall be established for the purpose of financing, in whole or in part, the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, expansion, renovation, alteration, and improvement of buildings, facilities, sites, and real property by the District, or the District's share of the cost of any capital improvements project undertaken by a Board of Cooperative Educational Services ("BOCES") of which the District is (or may become) a component district, including, in all cases, the acquisition of necessary furnishings, equipment, machinery, and apparatus; that the ultimate amount of the Fund shall be not greater than $25,000,000 (plus interest earned thereon); that the probable term of the Fund shall be not longer than fifteen (15) years; and that the permissible sources from which the Board is authorized to appropriate monies to the Fund from time to time shall be (A) amounts applied thereto from budgetary appropriations of the District; (B) unappropriated fund balance of the District as directed by the Board; (C) State aid received as reimbursement for expenditures by the District in connection with District capital improvements (whether or not such expenditures were financed in whole or in part from the Fund); (D) the proceeds from the sale of unneeded real or personal property owned by the District, if permitted by law and if so directed by the Board; (E) one or more other reserve funds of the District; and/or (F) such other sources as the Board or the voters of the District may direct from time to time, all as may be permitted by law.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Board will have prepared and completed a detailed statement in writing of the amount of money which will be required during the 2026-2027 fiscal year for school purposes, specifying the several purposes and the amounts for each, exclusive of public monies. Such statement will be available, upon request, to residents of the District during the hours of 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM from May 5, 2025, to May 19, 2025 (exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) and at each of the public school houses of the District.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that pursuant to a rule adopted by the Board under § § 2035 and 2008 of the Education Law, any referenda or propositions to amend the budget, or otherwise to be submitted for voting at the Annual Vote must comply with the Board's adopted rules set forth in District Policy 1650. However, the Board will not entertain any petition to place before the voters any proposition the purpose of which is not within the powers of the voters to determine, or any proposition which fails to include a specific appropriation where the proposition requires the expenditure of monies. Printed copies of these rules for the Submission of Questions and Propositions at the Annual Vote are available at the office of the District Clerk at 12145 County Line Road, Yorkshire, New York.

TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that applications for early mail and absentee ballots may be obtained at the office of the District Clerk between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday, except holidays. Completed applications must be received by the District Clerk at least seven (7) days before the Annual Vote, if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or on the day before the Annual Vote, if the ballot is to be issued personally to the voter at the office of the District Clerk. Early mail and absentee ballots must be received by the District Clerk not later than 5:00 PM on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, to be canvassed and counted. A list of all persons to whom early mail and absentee ballots shall have been issued will be available in the office of the District Clerk, where it shall be open for inspection by any qualified voter of the District during regular office hours (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) on each of the five (5) days prior to the Annual Vote (except Sunday), and will be posted at the polling place. Any qualified voter may challenge the acceptance of an absentee voter or early mail voter's ballot of any person on such list, by making his challenge and the reasons therefor known to the Inspector of the Election before the close of the polls. TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that military voters who are qualified voters of the District may apply for a military ballot by requesting an application from the District Clerk by email at jhiggins@pioneerschools.org or at the Office of the District Clerk located at 12145 County Line Road, Yorkshire NY 14173 betwee