Superintendent John McNamara presented the Wantagh Union Free School District’s proposed 2025–26 budget at the board’s May 8 business meeting and said the plan would stay below the district’s tax levy limit.

McNamara said the proposed tax levy would rise from about $67,000,000 to $68,900,000 and the overall budget would increase from roughly $91,700,000 to $94,700,000, noting the levy change remains under the district’s 2.89% tax-cap limit. He also said the district plans to ask voters to authorize $2,100,000 in spending from the capital reserve to fund four projects, led by a large roof replacement at Wantagh Elementary School.

The budget hearing matters because it sets the district’s spending priorities and sends two propositions to voters, McNamara said: the annual budget itself and the authorization to expend funds from the capital reserve. "This budget continues to maintain smaller elementary class sizes and funds program expansions while coming in below the tax levy limit of 2.89%," McNamara said.

McNamara walked the board and public through the budget drivers. He said people are the largest component of the budget, accounting for about 75% of expenses, and noted negotiated contract increases are the single biggest budget pressure, which he quantified as about $1.7 million. He also flagged special education costs, employer retirement contributions, technology and cybersecurity, insurance and transportation as significant upward drivers.

On revenue, McNamara said the district received final state aid numbers late the night before the meeting and expects a modest increase in foundation aid; he cited a roughly $315,000 increase anticipated for the 2025–26 school year. He said the state budget’s late adoption delayed final figures for districts statewide.

Capital projects described in the hearing include:
- a large roof replacement at Wantagh Elementary School (the largest of the four reserve-funded projects), which would require scaffolding across the building and will prevent the use of the school for summer recreation programs while work is done;
- ceiling replacements in some high school classrooms tied to HVAC work from the 2022 bond;
- an upgrade and replacement of district security cameras and associated network switch gear; and
- lighting work in the auditorium and other smaller facility improvements funded from transfer to capital.

McNamara also summarized recent capital work funded by the 2022 bond: bathroom renovations, a middle school gym project, roof work, hallway ceiling replacements, a new science research lab at the high school, a new public-address system across buildings and an upgraded phone system being rolled out this summer.

He described several programmatic additions the budget would support, including expansion of an early reading support program (WIN) into third grade, an expanded life-skills special education program at the middle and high school, a science research cohort that will serve more than 60 students, a new broadcasting elective, construction courses, a proposed three-year cybersecurity course sequence aiming at industry certification, and evening EMT instruction for a cohort of roughly a dozen students.

McNamara reminded voters that the district maintains several reserve funds and said the comptroller’s fiscal stress report gave the district “no designation,” a sign of improved fiscal health he credited to the business office. "Good news financially: we continue to be in a solid place financially," he said.

McNamara said the board will place two propositions before district voters and reminded the public that budget vote day will be held on a Tuesday in May with polls open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; the transcript did not specify an exact calendar date for the vote. He encouraged the community to vote at its respective elementary school polling location.

The hearing was informational; the board did not adopt the budget at the meeting. Routine consent items — minutes, financial reports, personnel approvals, contracts and donations — were moved and approved earlier in the meeting as part of the consent agenda.

The budget details and the proposed use of the capital reserve will appear on the district ballot for voter approval and, if approved, the capital projects would proceed per the district’s planning and procurement process.