TCA in the News

by: Leah Mallory

May 15, 2026

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Outrage continues to grow after a vote to adopt the proposed Rochester City School District budget for next school year.

The $1.16 billion budget for the 2026-27 school year was approved in a 4-3 vote Tuesday evening at the RCSD budget adoption meeting. The adopted budget cuts social work services, school food services, home instruction services and other areas.

“This is inexcusable, indefensible. And I hope that they will reconsider and fund the services that they have cut,” said Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester Teachers Association.

Urbanski attended Tuesday’s meeting. He said in addition to worrying about the welfare of students, the union is now helping employees facing termination.

“They have almost $1.2 billion,” Urbanski said. “When you have that much money, why would you want to cut social workers, school counselors and home hospital teachers who serve the most vulnerable students we have?”

The Children’s Agenda, a nonprofit organization that advocates for improved health and education outcomes for students, has consistently attended the budget meetings.

Eamonn Scanlon, director of community impact, said reducing social work and mental health services for students is misguided.

“That will have a negative impact on academics, on student well-being,” Scanlon said. “We’re going to probably see more suspensions if there’s less staff to offer alternatives to suspensions.”

Board members who voted for the budget said RCSD faced a challenging fiscal year and, recently, pressure from the state. However, grant funding has allowed the district to reinstate some positions.

“We are currently in a place where we could be considered inherently moving outside of the law,” RCSD Board President Camille Simmons said at the budget adoption meeting. “And this could put us as a board of education in a place for state intervention.”

Following the meeting, News 8 spoke with Superintendent Dr. Eric Jay Rosser.

“As we continue to identify efficiencies, additional revenue streams, we will then consider bringing more positions back,” Rosser said.

While Urbanski and Scanlon acknowledged the difficult decision-making process, they said things could have been done differently.

“If you’re going to attack the structural deficit, you have to get to what the structural deficit is driven by,” Scanlon said. “And that’s a very difficult problem, but it’s not something you solve, again, through cutting support staff. They make up a very tiny percentage of the overall budget.”

The adopted budget has been sent to City Council for review, and the Board of Education is expected to meet with council members for more discussion. The next board meeting is scheduled for May 19 and is a speaker forum. More information can be found on the RCSD website.

Original story here: https://www.rochesterfirst.com/community/rcsd/outrage-grows-after-rcsd-board-approves-1-16b-budget/