Port Washington board reviews $199 million 2025–26 budget draft, reallocates $767,000 to classroom, safety and special-education priorities

At a meeting of the Port Washington Union Free School District Board of Education, interim Superintendent Dr. Daniel Shields and district administrator Kathy Manuel presented a draft 2025'26 school budget that they said would remain under the district's allowable tax-levy limit and require a simple-majority approval from voters.

"Tonight is budget workshop session number 3. Our goal tonight is to give you an update on our revenue sources and then explain how we recommend reallocating funds for the 25''26 school year priorities," Dr. Shields said.

The administration proposed an appropriation budget of $199,007,128, a 2.28% increase over the prior year, with a calculated tax-levy increase of 3.39%. Kathy Manuel told the board, "This draft budget is a budget of 199,007,128." The draft assumes flat revenue in most categories but notes a projected decrease in state aid of about $1,041,000 compared with the prior year.

Why it matters: the draft keeps the tax levy under the district's allowable limit, meaning the budget as presented would need only a simple majority to pass, but the administration said the final numbers could change depending on the New York State budget and final foundation-aid allocations expected in early April.

What the draft would fund: staff and program priorities presented by the administration total roughly $767,000 after reallocations. The list included: - Three prioritized full-time equivalent (FTE) positions in order of priority: at least one elementary classroom teacher to address class-size pressure, a middle-school guidance counselor and a high-school financial-literacy teacher; the administration said these are in priority order and could be adjusted depending on enrollments. - An assistant director for Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) to provide additional administrative support for special-education…