The Locust Valley Board of Education appointed Christina Tomlinson as a new trustee and looked ahead to next year’s budget at its Jan. 21 meeting. District officials said the school aims to bolster student programming and fiscal health in the upcoming year with its budget.
Tomlinson was sworn in to the board at the start of the meeting. She will serve for the remainder of the academic year, filling the vacancy of former trustee Michele Schafer, who had served on the board since 2022. The board unanimously welcomed and appointed Tomlinson as a trustee to fulfill the opening.
Board President Lauren Themis said Tomlinson has been a member of various school committees and is “well-versed” with the board’s work.
“She has continued over the years, through elementary and middle school, to show her commitment, not only on parent council but on many district-like committees,” Themis said.
“We are very excited to welcome her into our busiest season of the year,” Themis said.
Looking ahead, school officials discussed the upcoming budget season.
Assistant Superintendent for Business Karen Horoszewski said the district aims to support academic programs, improve facilities and security and maintain fiscal health with the 2025-2026 budget.
“All of this is kept in mind when we’re building a budget,” she said.
The current year’s budget is over $96.4 million, a 2.65% increase from the previous year. Close to 75% of the budget is allocated for staff salaries and benefits, Horoszewski said.
The current year’s tax levy is about $88 million, a 1.96% increase from the year before. The tax levy accounts for over 90% of the district’s annual revenue this year.
“The vast majority of our revenues comes from the taxpayer,” Horoszewski said.
According to student enrollment data presented at the meeting, approximately 22% of the district’s students are economically disadvantaged.
Horoszewski said the maximum tax levy increase for the upcoming budget is approximately 2.11%. The tax cap limits the maximum allowable increase to residents’ school and property taxes, she said. The current year’s maximum tax levy increase is based off factors such as the current tax levy, tax base growth factor and consumer price index, Horoszewski said.
“I just want to highlight that this is an estimate,” Horoszewski said. “These numbers are still moving.”
Upcoming school improvements are proposed to come from the district’s fund balance, which will not impact the taxpayer, Horoszewski said. She said the fund balance is the district’s excess revenue, which indicates financial health and stability.
As of June, the district had $25.6 million in its total reserves and fund balance, Horoszewski said.
“You’ll notice that a majority of our reserves are allocated to the capital reserve,” she said. The capital reserve fund had over $10.7 million as of June, according to Horoszewski’s presentation.
Horoszewski said the district is proposing a capital reserve withdrawal to upgrade the middle and high school’s cafeteria and library.
“Since the funding will come entirely from the district’s reserves, there will be no impact to the taxpayers,” she said.
Horoszewski said the district faces various challenges with the 2025-2026 budget, like declining enrollment, state unfunded mandates and increases in transportation costs. In the past 10 years, the school district has seen a 12.5% decline in student enrollment, consistent with enrollment trends across Long Island, Horoszewski said.
The district’s next budget presentation will be on Feb. 11. The budget adoption will be on April 22, the budget hearing will be held on May 7 and the budget vote will be on May 20.
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