Levittown budget to top $200M

The Levittown School District budget will likely hit the $200 million mark for the first time next year, based on a draft spending plan that was unveiled to the public last week.

At the Jan. 14 Board of Education meeting, administrators presented the first set of numbers that will likely be fine-tuned before the budget is finalized in late March. Bill Pastore, the assistant superintendent for business, said district officials are currently weighing a $202.1 million spending plan for the 2015-16 school year. That would be an increase of about $3.4 million over the current year, or 1.7 percent. Levittown, which takes in portions of Wantagh and Seaford, is one of the largest school districts in Nassau County, with an enrollment of about 7,500 students in 11 buildings.

Salaries will rise by about $3 million next year, accounting for most of the increase. Pastore said that the overall cost of employee benefits would actually go down because, after years of skyrocketing retirement costs, the contribution rates are expected to drop.

Benefits will accounts for about $48 million of the total budget, and salaries about $119.3 million. Pastore said that the preliminary spending plan maintains all programs, staffing levels and class sizes.

The district is still awaiting preliminary state aid figures from the governor’s office, as well as the final consumer price index, which will determine Levittown’s allowable tax levy increase. Pastore said that the final budget would meet the tax cap.

The school board got a look at transportation and facilities requests last week. Dajuana Reeves, the supervisor of the Transportation Department, said she was looking to purchase two new large buses and three small buses next year, at a cost of about $476,000.

The last time the district purchased new small buses, Reeves said, was in 2012. She added that she was looking to establish a regular replacement scheduled of all buses to keep repair costs down and maximize trade-in values.

While the transportation budget is expected to rise about $287,000 next year, or 10 percent, Reeves noted that much of that money comes back to the district in state aid.

No major construction projects are planned, but the facilities budget, at $6.1 million, would include money for various repairs, two new vans, a new salt and sand spreader, and classroom furniture, as well as security upgrades.

Also expected to be on the ballot on May 19 will be the establishment of a capital repair reserve fund, which would have to be approved by voters. Superintendent Dr. Tonie McDonald said that a fund total hadn’t been finalized yet, but would likely be in the ballpark of $1 million.

McDonald explained that if such a fund is established, voter approval would also be needed to spend money on planned repair projects. The only exception, she said, would be emergencies.

Several more budget meetings are planned. The curriculum and instruction, technology and Gerald R. Clapp Career and Technical Center budgets will be discussed on Feb. 4. Special education, the tax cap calculation and elementary staffing and enrollment will be reviewed the following week.

On March 4, administrators will go over revenue and fund balance projections, and a March 11 meeting will focus on staffing and enrollment at the secondary schools. The Board of Education is expected to adopt a spending plan on March 25, and a budget hearing is set for May 6.