Accounting Explained for Owego’s Upcoming School District Vote

[By Wendy Post]

On May 19, area residents will head to their polling locations to vote on their respective proposed school budgets. Most polling places are open from noon to 8 p.m. Residents eligible to vote can contact their school district for the exact polling times and locations. Many have already been notified by mail.

You can vote on a school district budget if you are 18 years old as of the voting date, a U.S. citizen, and a resident of the school district for 30 days prior. You must also show a valid photo ID.

In Owego, an absentee ballot can be obtained by contacting the District Clerk at vote@oacsd.org. All ballots must be received no later than 5 p.m. on May 19. You can also call the District Clerk at (607) 687-6215.

Some school districts in the county have held public hearings, including the OA School District, which communicated a unique situation this year: the tax levy increase is not actual and is due to the expiration of a Payment in Lieu of Taxes for the Stagecoach Pipeline.

As an OA District spokesperson explained, the entire increase residents will see in the tax levy is fully offset by the taxes the Stagecoach Pipeline will pay through the regular tax roll. The tax levy to the rest of the community is 0%. 

In a press release, Luke McEvoy, public information for OA, wrote, “If the Stagecoach Pipeline (formerly CNYOG) Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) was not coming back onto the tax rolls this year, the district’s tax levy would once again be 0% for the fourth time in the last six years.” 

He further explained that the district’s average tax levy change remains historically low at 0.80% over the past five years and 1.14% over the past 10 years.

To better understand the shift, McEvoy explained that the agreement with Stagecoach expired in March 2026. By law, these payments must now move from the “Miscellaneous Revenue” category to the “Property Tax Levy” category.

“Because of this mandated shift in how we account for these funds, residents will notice a significant change on the upcoming Property Tax Report Card, whereas it will look like there is a 17.10% increase in the district’s tax levy,” said McEvoy.

The reality, he added, is that this is strictly a technical accounting change. The “increase” is actually the $3,183,700 payment from Stagecoach Pipeline moving from one category to another. The Tax Levy increase for residents remains at 0%.

“This is not a new spending decision,” McEvoy wrote, adding, “The increase in the levy is fully offset by the increase in the taxable base.” 

In practical terms, he emphasized that residents can expect an impact of approximately 0% on their school tax bills.

You can review a snapshot of the budget in OA’s newsletter, available online at https://aptg.co/ZFPztl.