Long Island school budget vote: $16B in school spending on the ballot this Tuesday

School budgets on Long Island could rise 3.68% on average to a total of $16.36 billion in 2025-26, as districts step up career-oriented training and other instruction, while also providing for renovation of classrooms, gyms and other aging facilities.

Budget voting is scheduled for Tuesday in 124 districts regionwide, with a total of 335 school-board candidates on ballots, together with more than 100 special propositions. The great majority of districts are keeping within the state’s strict tax caps, while Elwood, Hicksville and Shelter Island will seek cap overrides.

If the budgets put forward by the Island's school districts are approved Tuesday, property taxes would increase to a total of $10 billion, or an average of 2.3%, with a continued flow of state financial aid picking up a larger share of educational costs. Revenue growth would push costs next year to more than $39,700 per student, among the highest figures in the nation.

Newsday's annual survey of districts found in addition to instructional costs such as teacher salaries and benefits, the new spending proposals covered a broad list of priorities, ranging from advanced college-level coursework to sports to student security.

Deer Park is adding a high school class in Advanced Placement African American Studies. Malverne is replacing electronic classroom boards with newer models. Wyandanch seeks voter permission to spend $15 million in reserve funds on an early childhood education center.

East Williston is adding a district security coordinator to its staff. Rockville Centre plans to establish a varsity field hockey team, while Great Neck seeks funding for a synthetic turf field at its North Middle School. 

Lars Clemensen, superintendent of Hampton Bays schools, said in a phone interview  the variety of goals embedded in districts' spending plans reflects the fact schools these days are being called on to provide a growing number of services. Clemensen is also president on the New York State Council of School Superintendents. 

"Long gone are the days when the 3Rs were the sole focus," said Clemensen, referring to the basic subjects of reading, writing and arithmetic. "It strikes me how powerful the idea of local control is on Long Island, because each district is responsive to what local residents say is important to them." 

Other districts, meanwhile, plan cutbacks in staffing and services as they deal with revenue restrictions under the state's tax-cap law. Hempstead is cutting 25 teacher positions; Uniondale is eliminating 18 through attrition. Sachem is seeking voter permission for a $1.7 million reduction in student bus transportation. West Babylon is closing its Forest Avenue Elementary School and "repurposing" the building for other uses.

"School districts over the past several years have had to deal with the challenges of sustained inflation that has exceeded allowable tax caps," Robert Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, said in a prepared statement. "We applaud the work of boards of education, together with their administrative teams, in sustaining a level of excellence in public education." 

The cost squeeze is just one reason why many districts are making cuts. Another factor is dwindling enrollments. 

A Newsday analysis last year found the region's student population dropped 7.3% over the prior decade, from 455,384 students to 421,990. District projections for next year, compiled by the state, show a continued decline to 412,465.

"We've got less students, more money and our test scores aren't going anywhere," said Fred Gorman, a longtime regional taxpayer advocate who lives in Nesconset. "That's the life story of the Long Island taxpayer — you're paying more for less."

Federal aid a concern

The status of next year's federal aid to schools also remains a question mark, partly due to a highly-publicized legal dispute between the Trump administration and New York State authorities over the use of diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools.

Such programs are designed in part to recognize diverse backgrounds of students in areas including race, ethnicity and gender, and to protect against discrimination or help students connect with their heritage. Some aspects of DEI have been criticized, however, as "ethnic cheerleading."

On April 3, the U.S. Department of Education instructed states to sign certifications they were not using DEI programs to “advantage one’s race over another” — a practice the agency contended was unconstitutional. The letter indicated certification was required for continued receipt of federal school aid.

The following day, New York State’s education department refused to sign the certification form, stating there “are no federal or state laws prohibiting the principles of DEI." Letitia James, the state’s attorney general, announced on April 25 that 19 states including New York were suing the Trump administration over what she called its “unlawful” ban on DEI practices in schools.

“Loss of federal funding would be catastrophic for students throughout New York State,” James said in a news release.

Regional finance experts say federal funding represents about 4.5% of school revenues on the Island, while state funding is more than 30%.

According to the latest state records from the 2023-24 school year, school districts in the region receive nearly $700 million annually in federal funding. That figure covers assistance for educational purposes, and does not include funding for school meals, which is handled separately.

Nationwide, the bulk of federal assistance is supposed to continue flowing during the 2025-26 school year, under a resolution passed by Congress in March and signed by President Donald Trump. Education analysts said the resolution covers big-ticket items at about the same level as this year’s, including more than $14 billion for special education and $18 billion for bolstering instruction in schools with big proportions of students from low-income families.

However, the resolution did not spell out exactly how much money was to be spent for certain other programs, such as teacher recruitment and training. That omission, coupled with the fight over DEI programs, has some educational groups in Washington, D.C., warning constituents that funding could potentially be cut at a time when districts in New York and other states are completing budget plans for next year. 

“Any significant fluctuations (specifically reductions) in federal funding at this time would have a negative effect on schools,” said one national expert on school funding, Tara Thomas, in a phone interview with Newsday.

Thomas is government affairs manager for AASA, an organization representing school superintendents nationwide.

Federal aid is distributed to schools partially on the basis of poverty level. As a result, federal aid accounts for as little as 1% of revenues in some affluent districts, and as much as 10% for poorer systems. 

Figures were provided to Newsday by Joseph Dragone, a longtime school business official now serving as an adviser to the Long Island Education Coalition, an alliance of school groups. 

Dragone, in a phone interview, noted that under state law, districts are allowed at the end of each school year to keep leftover funds equivalent to 4% of their total budget. Such funds serve as a cushion against unforeseen financial setbacks, including any cuts in federal aid.

“So if your federal aid is 1 or 2% of your total budget, and you don’t get that money, then you can absorb that,” Dragone said. “But if 10% of your usual budget comes from the federal government, then there’s no way you can absorb that. So you’re going to have to lay off staff, cut programs or raise taxes.”

Another expert on school funding, B.A. Schoen, of Baldwin, agreed questions surrounding the status of federal aid were worrisome. Schoen is a board trustee for the Nassau Board of Cooperative Educational Services and president of the advocacy group Reform Educational Finance Inequalities Today. The group represents "fiscally challenged" districts seeking more outside funding support. 

"Obviously, it's a large chunk of money, especially for high-needs districts," Schoen said of federal assistance. "It creates a lot of uncertainty, which is a problem in itself."