As announced during the May 19 Board of Education Meeting, the Results of the 2026 Haldane Central School District Budget and Trustee Vote are as follows:

Proposition I: Adopted 591-215 votes

School Budget of $31,892,876, a budget-to-budget increase of 5.77%, and a Tax Levy Increase of 5.53%. Roughly half of the tax increase was related to the school budget. The other half is debt service payments on the Capital Project, which includes major renovations to the infrastructure of the Haldane schools.

Proposition II: Adopted 591-218 votes

A tax-neutral school bus purchase amounting to $175,000, which would cover one 24-passenger Diesel School Bus and 2 minivans. Because the previous school budget had also allocated funds for bus purchases, this proposition would not affect taxes.

Proposition III: Adopted 625-186 votes

A Tax Neutral Replacement of Tennis Courts amounting to $275,000.

Proposition IV: Adopted 588-221 votes

A Transportation Reserve fund of up to $5,000,000.

Proposition V: Adopted 654-115 votes

Butterfield Library Annual Budget of $101,094

(Separate from school budget).

Haldane Board of Education Trustee Seat: Adam Burgoon is elected.

The Trustee-elect, Adam Burgoon, is the owner of the investment company Drumbeat Ventures and a Haldane parent of a 4th and 7th grader. He received 411 votes.

The other Trustee candidate, Trace Bunye, is a clinical psychologist and a Haldane parent of a 4th and 6th grader. She received 317 votes.

This budget vote took place on May 19, 2026, between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. U.S. Citizens who have lived for at least 30 days in the Haldane School District and are above the age of 18 were eligible to vote. The vote did not affect the funding for the Capital Project, which had been approved earlier during the 2024 Capital Project Referendum. If the budget did not pass, the Project would have continued, and cuts would have occurred in other areas to cover the budget deficit. 

Prior to the polls closing, and when asked about any items not on this year’s budget that she’d like to see in the future, Principal Julia Sniffen referenced an expanded auditorium and lights for Haldane Sports Fields as two potential items for the future. When asked about her opinion on the current budget vote, she said: “I hope all students have what they need to learn and are learning”.

Following the vote announcement, Haldane parent and former Board of Education member John Hedlund thanked the two trustee candidates. “Haldane runs on volunteers,” Hedlund said, “both of you, thank you for stepping forward”.

When asked for a comment, Burgoon said it was “nice that we had two people interested in the position. Hopefully, Tracy (Bunye) stays involved, and I’m excited to see what I can do.”