Port Washington board begins budget work sessions with $1.3 million gap, seeks options to stay under 3.39% tax cap

Port Washington, N.Y. — The Port Washington Union Free School District Board of Education opened the first of three budget work sessions Feb. 11, with district staff reporting a roughly $1,300,000 gap between projected expenditures and revenues and recommending options to stay within a 3.39% tax levy limit.

"Our goal tonight is to begin the conversation with the board about how the budget development process has been taking place and where we see it heading over the next few months," said Miss Manuel, who led the presentation. She told trustees the board will meet in two further budget sessions before adopting a proposed budget on April 22 and holding the public hearing May 6 ahead of the May 20 vote.

The district attributed most of the current shortfall to a decrease in anticipated state aid; Manuel said "state aid for our district . . . has decreased for this year by about a million dollars," and that the district's full valuation increases have lowered aid ratios. She said the district's tax base growth factor from the state Office of Real Property Services is 1.17 percent, producing a tax levy limit of about 3.39 percent for 2025–26.

Superintendent Dr. Shields provided enrollment context during the meeting: "currently, our enrollment is 5,345 students. But . . . if we take out our Pre-K, it's 5,273 students in our kindergarten through twelfth grade," an increase of 20 students over last year.

District staff outlined three priority areas staff will use to…