Peekskill proposes $131.74 million 2025–26 budget with 1.5% tax-levy increase

Peekskill City School District finance staff on Tuesday presented a proposed $131,740,528 budget for the 2025–26 school year that would increase the district tax levy 1.5% and is projected to raise the average homeowner’s property tax bill by about $3.67 per month, or roughly $44.03 annually, on a home valued at about $400,000.

The proposal, presented by Assistant Superintendent for Business Cynthia Hawthorne and discussed by Superintendent Dr. Mauricio and board members, would raise total spending 7.06% from the current year. Hawthorne said the district expects roughly 50.57% of revenue to come from state aid and about 35% from the local tax levy; salaries and benefits make up the largest single cost at roughly 67.9% of the budget.

The budget summary emphasizes classroom programs and staffing. New or continued staffing and program requests in the proposal include: one full-time physical-education teacher for the middle/high school, a college-and-career school counselor to support P-TECH and Smart Scholars students, three elementary lunch monitors, and continued funding for after-school programs such as the Elton program. The presentation listed several one-time and recurring costs: an initial implementation year for the NWEA assessment suite at about $46,000 (assessment plus professional learning), $10,000 for a new middle/high-school French program subscription and teacher professional learning, and an estimated $140,000 cost to convert a current 0.6 FTE phys-ed allocation to a full-time position (salary and benefits).

Superintendent Dr. Mauricio framed the presentation in fiscal terms and the district’s instructional priorities, saying the administration aims to “be great stewards of our finances and also the taxpayer dollars” while preserving programming that staff said supports student achievement.

Board members asked for follow-up information on several operational details. Trustees requested more detail on training and the intended duties for the three additional lunch monitors and asked staff to report back on outcomes after a year of the middle-school nine-period schedule, including class-size effects. Hawthorne said the district plans kitchen upgrades at Oakside and Woodside this summer to create two serving lines and speed meal service, and that the additional monitors will be part of a broader effort to increase students’ outside and unstructured play time during lunch.

Hawthorne also reviewed capital and reserve items. The proposed budget includes ongoing capital transfers for flooring and building maintenance; the presentation said a district capital project investment yields an estimated 84% reimbursement over 15 years from building aid and that the budget sets aside $2 million in fund balance. Transportation costs rose after a recent vendor RFP, and the district reported higher insurance rates driven by NYSERRS/NYSER (presented as an insurance-rate increase). Hawthorne noted a planned transfer to debt service to cover already-voter-approved capital work.

Administrative limits and next steps: the district’s administrative cap is 10.44% under the three-part budget rules for contingent budgets, the presentation said. Hawthorne told the board the proposed levy is well below the district’s maximum allowable levy under New York’s property tax cap calculation. She asked the board to adopt the proposed budget and accept the property tax report card; the presentation reminded the public that petitions for three-year board seats are due April 30, a public hearing on the final budget is scheduled for May 6, and the budget vote will be held May 20.

No formal adoption of the budget occurred during this meeting; board action on the final budget will follow the public hearing and the May 20 vote. The meeting did include two formal votes unrelated to the budget: the board approved the consent agenda and later voted to adjourn (motions recorded without individual roll-call tallies in the record).

What changed or is new in the proposal - Assessment and instructional tools: district is shifting to NWEA assessments (pilot this year) to replace AIMSweb and Reading Inventory; first-year cost ~ $46,000. The AVID middle-school program will be funded through a state incentive grant (SIG/Title I), per the presentation. - Staffing targeted to mandates and program expansion: converting a 0.6 FTE phys-ed allocation to a full FTE (estimated $140,000 with benefits); adding a college-and-career counselor to support P-TECH and Smart Scholars; three lunch monitors for elementary schools. - World language expansion: pilot French courses next year with an initial $10,000 digital resources/textbook and professional-learning request.

Clarifying details from the presentation - Total proposed budget: $131,740,528 (presenter figure). - Year-over-year budget increase: 7.06% (presenter figure). - Proposed tax-levy increase: 1.5% (presenter figure); projected average homeowner monthly increase $3.67 / annual $44.03 (presenter figure; example used a home value slightly over $400,000). - Revenue mix shown in presentation: ~50.57% state aid, ~35% property tax levy, ~8% other revenue. - First-year NWEA cost: approximately $46,000 (assessment and professional learning). - French course start-up resources requested: $10,000. - Estimated cost to convert phys-ed allocation to full FTE (salary + benefits): approximately $140,000. - District plans to use $2,000,000 of fund balance as presented. - Elton/after-school program: the presenter noted the program’s recent annual cost figure (~$136,000) and said the district is planning to sustain it with a $100,000 allocation in the proposed budget (the presentation referenced both numbers; see clarifying_details).

Discussion and next steps Board members thanked Hawthorne for stewardship and asked staff to return with implementation details and training plans for lunchtime staff and a review of nine-period middle-school outcomes after a year. The administration said it will present a recommended final budget for board adoption after the May 6 public hearing and ahead of the May 20 districtwide vote.