Rockville Centre schools float $136.4M plan

The Rockville Centre school district is proposing a $136.4 million budget for the 2023-24 school year, which would increase school taxes by an estimated $266 per homeowner next year, based on the most recent information provided by the Nassau County assessor’s office.

Many factors contribute to how much a homeowner pays in taxes every year. The current assessed value of the average home in RVC is $1.12 million, according to the Department of Assessment, which school officials have indicated has not yet provided the average valuation for the next school year.

The tax levy is projected to increase by 1.99 percent, well below the district’s state-mandate cap of 2.21 percent, to just under $103.9 million.

Robert Bartels, assistant superintendent of business, said in a presentation on April 4 that according to a recent report by Newsday, the average tax levy increase for schools on Long Island next year is estimated to be about 2.2 percent.

“We are well under that,” Bartels said. “We are in the bottom third on Long Island of tax increases.”

If approved by voters next month, the proposed budget would increase overall spending by 5.74 percent, or $7.4 million. It includes $78.8 million for instruction, $31.2 million for teacher and employee benefits, $13.2 million in administrative costs, $5.1 million for transportation, and $190,950 for community services.

State and foundation aid, the latter based on a formula designed to help provide more money to schools with high-needs students, are expected to increase by 17.8 percent or $19.3 million in total. The hike in state aid comes as part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed executive budget, which would increase funding for public school districts across the state by $3.1 billion in 2023-24.

To help fund capital projects, including roof repairs and a new artificial-turf field at South Side Middle School, the district plans to use $4.3 million of its fund balance, to reduce the impact on taxpayers. The budget also includes the addition of six new sports teams and upgraded locker rooms at South Side High School.

There would be no layoffs or reduction of existing programs, and the spending plan would add new cybersecurity measures, new classes in coding and robotics for students in all grades, and would expand the district’s integrated co-teaching model from the elementary school to South Side middle and high schools.

Bartels also provided several updates that the district plans to include in its revised budget, which will take into consideration enrollment changes for students taking special education courses at BOCES, additional support for the high school DECA club, the increased cost of natural gas, additional security repairs, and reductions in all of the following: legal services, computer software, workers compensation, retirement breakage, and employee retirement contributions.

A preliminary budget hearing is scheduled for April 18, at 7 p.m., in the Commons Room at the South Side High. The budget vote and Board of Education elections will take place on Tuesday, May 16, at the high school.

If the budget fails to pass, the board can submit the same spending plan, or an adjusted one, for a revote in June. If it were to fail a second time, the district would be forced to adopt a contingency budget with no tax levy increase, reducing spending by more than $2 million. A contingency budget would provide no funding for new equipment, public use of school grounds, nonessential maintenance or non-emergency capital expenditures.

Two new school board trustees will be elected to three-year terms, succeeding Trustees Tara Hackett and Christine Ferazani. Voters will also decide on the proposed 2023-24 budget for the Rockville Centre Public Library and elect a new library board member to a three-year term, succeeding Rebecca Nothel.