"I encourage you to look at this time of year not as a time when we vote on school budgets, but a time when we reaffirm our commitment to educating future generations," said Canajoharie Superintendent Richard Rose.

The cost of reaffirming that commitment is up.

In Amsterdam, school spending will be 6.5 percent higher next year. Taxes, though, will hold steady.

Districts prepare for school budget vote

In a little more than a week, voters will head to the polls as school districts try to get their annual budgets approved. In Montgomery County, several districts are proposing tax increases. Where is all the money going? As our Mark Repasky reports, the answer may surprise you.

Canajoharie residents will see their taxes go up by 3 percent.

And in Fort Plain, a 5 percent budget hike means an extra 1.9 percent for taxpayers.

"We have been trying as much as we possibly can to keep every cost, every possibility down, but that nasty word, mandates, comes in," said Fort Plain Superintendent Doug Burton.

State mandates do take up a significant amount of cash.

The biggest culprit though is something you won't even see in the classroom.

Fonda-Fultonville Superintendent Jim Hoffman said over the last five years, pension costs have increased 218 percent.

"Our pension costs are tied to the rise and fall of the stock market. When the stock market goes down, school districts must pay to carry the difference," Hoffman said.

So why don't superintendents do something about those mandates?

It's a catch-22 because it's all about the money.

With as much as 60 percent of school funds coming from the Capitol, if a single district is too vocal it could get less money from the state.

"We cannot do it alone. You're asking us to stand up and be accountable. I'm asking you to stand up and be accountable with us because together there's strength in numbers," Amsterdam Superintendent Ron Lemoncelli said.

Lemoncelli hopes those numbers will unite against state mandates, instead of against school budgets.