• Superintendent Mark Laurrie 

    Mark Laurrie

    From Niagara Falls City School District Superintendent Mark Laurrie April 2025

    Niagara Falls City School District (NFCSD)

    From: Superintendent Mark Laurrie

    April 2025

    Over the last three months, the staff and Board of Education of the Niagara Falls City School District have diligently worked on the 2025-2026 school district budget. The Niagara Falls voting public will have the opportunity to vote on this budget on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at their regular polling sites from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. You may find a Niagara Falls High School senior when you arrive at your polling location this year. As a part of our civic engagement initiative and working with the Niagara County Board of Elections, we have created a new student pathway and trained 18-year-old students to be certified election inspectors. With this training, they can work at any Niagara County Election site. This supports the election teams and gives our students first-hand experience in the voting process. While we are on the topic of civics, beginning with the Board of Education reorganization meeting on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, a Niagara Falls High School student will begin serving as a nonvoting ad hoc member of our school board.

    I am pleased that 15 students have expressed an interest in serving. Students from the Niagara Falls High School student government team working with the high school administration will interview and select the candidate to represent their classmates on the school board.

    Concerning the 2025-26 budget, $202,690,136 is set to support our 7,041 students and 1,507 staff members. The 2025 - 2026 budget is my ninth school budget as superintendent, and once again, we are not proposing a raise in the tax levy. Also, there will again be no reductions in staff or programs. A simple majority of 50% of the voters must pass the budget to be successful. Our young people need academic and social/emotional opportunities and support to achieve and thrive. We cannot afford to do less. Everything we do for our youngest one-year-old students in Head Start to our exceptional 450 seniors is to prepare them with a warm handoff for college, university, the military, or a meaningful career. If you have any questions regarding our budget, never hesitate to contact me at MLaurrie@nfschools.net. I will reply as soon as possible. We promise to use your tax dollars to continue to build our future leaders.