Massapequa Board of Education trustees presented the first draft of a proposed district budget for the 2025-26 academic year at their recent meeting on Feb. 6.
The board did not release a total amount for its proposal and will instead unveil information to the public about the budget gradually. The full proposal will be finalized on April 24, with voting by Massapequa residents set for May.
“We take all 289 budget codes, we break it down to dollar zero and then we build each code up from there, so it’s a very thoughtful and thorough process,” Assistant Superintendent for Business Operations Ryan Ruf said during the presentation about constructing the budget.
The board started its presentation by listing its goals for the budget before diving into numbers. The trustees first showed a $7.2 million rollover from the current academic year.
The presentation then listed proposal budgets for its Board of Education ($44,266), district clerk ($16,000), district meetings ($33,043) and superintendent’s office ($455,479). The business office and auditors’ budget is set at $1,572,137. Legal services, human resources and public information will have a $1,427,581 budget.
The buildings and grounds section of the budget had the largest total attached to it in the presentation. The $9,770,037.40 budget allocated for this includes the district’s facility upkeep and custodial responsibilities.
Maintenance and security each have a budget estimated at over $2.2 million for the upcoming academic year.
One area in which the school is projected to save money is through central printing and mailing, which will see an 8% or $36,774 decrease from its $449,468 allotment this year.
The district will also budget $1,657,702 for unallocated insurance and another $1,084,724 for BOCES administrative costs.
The district approved a tax levy of $178,753,644 for the 2024-25 year, which was 1.9% below the allowable tax levy limit. The proposed tax levy for the upcoming school year would be $184,183,099.
The district operated with a $235.6 million budget during the 2024-25 academic year which increased from $227.8 million the year prior.
According to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s January proposal, the Massapequa School District is expected to receive $48,163,562, which is a 2% increase from the 2024-25 academic year. The board’s budget presentation noted $46.1 in proposed state aid. The state budget will be approved prior to the finalization of the district’s budget.
According to 2023-24 enrollment data, Massapequa had the seventh-largest student population for a school district in Nassau County and the second-highest in the Town of Oyster Bay. The school district had 6,482 student during the 2023-24 academic year spread between nine academic buildings.
The board create an opportunity for questions to be asked at its meeting, but none were raised.
The next school budget meeting will focus on instructional and capital project plans while the final budget presentation will explore the total budget and expected revenues.
Massapequa community members will be able to vote on a finalized budget for the 2025-26 academic year on May 20 at four of the schools within the district.
