Local school districts continued their preliminary budget presentations at board meetings recently as each district prepares its budget for a vote in May.
All figures each school district provides are not final, and districts may change figures as they develop their budgets throughout late winter and early spring before adopting their budgets in April and the public vote in May.
The Sayville Board of Education held its second budget presentation on Feb. 12, discussing revenue and expenses.
The district outlined budget priorities, including closing the gap between district revenues and expenditures, maintaining all programs, and pursuing capital improvements that may require a vote to go into reserves. Other budget priorities include reducing reliance on reserves and identifying new revenue sources to support long-term planning.
Robert Bartels, interim assistant superintendent for business and personnel at the Sayville School District, said the district will see a 4.48 percent increase in revenue in the 2026-2027 school year compared to this year, with a nearly $1.3 million increase in state aid, bringing total external revenue to $33.7 million.
Bartels said the district’s tax levy would increase by 2.79 percent, which is below the limit the district can impose on taxpayers.
For district expenses, Bartels said the district expects expenses on salaries overall to increase by around 2.5 percent, with benefits like health insurance going up by around 1.3 percent. These two factors account for about $77.8 million. Equipment expenses are expected to increase by $14,500 (5.89 percent), while transportation and contracted services are expected to decrease by approximately 5.8 percent ($472,000) and 5.8% ($322,000), respectively.
Some of the proposed facility enhancements include a $450,000 sound and lighting upgrade for the high school auditorium, a $325,000 move of the high school weight room to a fitness center, a $125,000 upgrade of math classroom whiteboards, and a $200,000 security camera upgrade for all schools. These enhancements would require an additional proposal to be voted on, but each project has already been budgeted for, Bartels said.
Total expenses are projected to be around 1.94 percent for the 2026-2027 school year.
The Sayville School District will hold its third budget workshop on March 12 at Sayville Middle School.
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