Public hearing and budget vote for Gowanda Central School District scheduled for May 2026.

Legal Notices 



NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING, BUDGET VOTE AND ELECTION

GOWANDA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

TOWNS OF COLLINS, DAYTON, HANOVER, NORTH COLLINS,

PERRYSBURG AND PERSIA

COUNTIES OF CATTARAUGUS, CHAUTAUQUA AND ERIE




NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a public hearing for the voters of the Gowanda Central School District (the “District”) on the 2026-2027 budget shall be held on May 6, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. prevailing time in the Library of the District’s High School Building, 10674 Prospect Street, Gowanda, New York.




TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Annual School District Meeting and Vote of the District (the “Annual Meeting and Vote”), Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Erie Counties, New York will be held on Tuesday, May 19, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. prevailing time to 8:00 p.m . prevailing time in the Library of the District’s Middle School, 10674 Prospect Street, Gowanda, New York, for the purposes of (a) electing two members of the Board of Education of the District (the “Board”), (b) voting on the District’s budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year; (c) voting on a proposition to purchase vehicles (using vehicle purchase reserve funds) for use in the transportation program of the District; (d) establishment of a Capital Improvements Reserve Fund, 2026; (e) voting on a proposition to increase the annual appropriation of funds for the operation of the Gowanda Free Library ; and transacting such other business as authorized by law or rules of the Board.




TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the election of members of the Board shall be held to fill two at-large vacancies created by the expiration on June 30, 2026 of the terms of Board members, Mark D. Nephew and Zachary C. Nobles. The two candidates receiving, respectively, the largest number of votes will be elected to serve three-year terms commencing on July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029.




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 Clerk of the District, shall be signed by at least 25 qualified voters of the District, or two percent of the voters who voted in the previous annual election of members to the school board, whichever is greater, shall state the residence of each signer, shall state the name and residence of the candidate and shall be filed in the office of the Clerk of the District, 10674 Prospect Street, Gowanda, New York, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. prevailing time and 5:00 p.m. prevailing time, not later than the 30th day preceding the election of members of the Board of Education, to wit, April 20, 2026. Petitions are available from the office of the Clerk of the District during regular business hours, Monday through Friday except holidays.




TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that voting at the Annual Meeting and Vote shall consist of voting on the election of three members of the Board, voting on the following propositions, and on such other propositions as are authorized by law and the rules of this Board:




PROPOSITION NO. 1 – 2026-2027 BASIC BUDGET 




Shall the following resolution be adopted, to wit:




RESOLVED, that the basic budget for the Gowanda 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 of the District, 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 – PURCHASE OF FOUR BUSES UTILIZING VEHICLE PURCHASE RESERVE FUND (NO TAX RATE IMPACT)




Shall the following resolutions be adopted, to wit:

RESOLVED , that the Board of Education (the “Board”) of the Gowanda Central School District (the “District”) is hereby authorized to purchase four (4) sixty-six (66) passenger school buses at an estimated maximum cost of $694,747.16 for use in the transportation program of the District with such cost (or so much thereof as may be necessary) to be funded through the expenditure or application (during the current fiscal year of the District) of monies from the District’s Vehicle Purchase Reserve Fund, without creating the need to borrow; and




BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this authorization to fund the purchase of such school buses shall have no effect on the District’s tax rate for the 2026-2027 school year.




PROPOSITION NO. 3 – ESTABLISHMENT OF A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS RESERVE FUND, 2026




Shall the following resolution be adopted, to wit:




RESOLVED, that the Board of Education (the “Board”) of the Gowanda Central School District, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, and Erie Counties, 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 $10,000,000 (plus interest earned thereon); that the probable term of the Fund shall be not longer than ten (10) 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 .




PROPOSITION NO. 4 –LIBRARY BUDGET




Shall the following resolutions be adopted, to wit:

RESOLVED , that the annual appropriation for the operation of the Gowanda Free Library be increased by 5% from $61,383.60 to $64,452.78 and that the Board of Education of the Gowanda Central School District, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Erie Counties, New York, be authorized to levy the necessary taxes thereof.




TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that voting machines will be used to record the vote on the budget, on all propositions, and on the election of members of the Board.




TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that applications for absentee and early mail ballots may be obtained at the office of the Clerk of the District between the hours of 9:00 a.m. prevailing time and 4:00 p.m. prevailing time except Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. Completed applications must be received by the District Clerk at least seven days before the Annual Meeting and Vote, if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or on the day before the Annual Meeting and Vote, if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the voter. A list of all persons to whom absentee and early mail 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 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., prevailing time, until the day set for voting, except for Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. No absentee or early mail ballot will be canvassed and counted unless it is received in the office of the District Clerk prior to 5:00 p.m. prevailing time on May 19, 2026.




TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the qualified voters of the District shall be entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting and Vote. A qualified voter is one who is (1) a citizen of the United States of America, (2) eighteen years of age or older, and (3) resident within the District for a period of thirty (30) days next preceding the Annual Meeting and Vote who is not otherwise prohibited from voting under section 5-106 of the New York Election Law. The District may require all persons offering to vote to provide one form of proof of residency pursuant to Education Law §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 sig