Riverhead budget presentation: $9.9 million proposed increase; charter tuition drives costs

Riverhead Central School District Assistant Superintendent for Business Dr. Mary Ann Cartosano presented the second budget review for fiscal 2025–26 on March 18, telling the Board of Education the district’s proposed spending increase is $9.9 million, or 4.95 percent, yielding a maximum tentative budget of $211,434,000 and leaving the district’s property tax levy within the 2.16 percent tax-cap calculation.

Cartosano said the district expects about $4.9 million in state aid and an additional roughly $700,000 tied to special-education funding, but that rising costs in several lines leave the budget pressured. “Out of the $9,900,000, $7,700,000 is going directly to instructional programs within the school district,” Cartosano said. She told the board that $2.6 million of that instructional increase is not for in-district students but is charter school tuition.

Why it matters: the presentation identified three large, recurring cost drivers that the administration said will affect the district’s near-term finances: charter school tuition, out-of-district special-education placements (BOCES), and increased support-staff salaries and benefits. Cartosano said those lines together already left the administration roughly $918,000 over initial estimates before program choices were added.

Most important facts

- Proposed budget increase: $9.9 million (4.95%), maximum tentative budget $211,434,000; tax-cap (maximum levy growth) shown as 2.16 percent.

- Charter school tuition: the district recorded $14,356,000 in charter payments for the current year and Cartosano projected charter tuition could rise to about $16.5 million next year (an increase she said would be roughly $2.6–$2.7 million). Cartosano cited a per-pupil payment of $21,746 for the current year and a state-set tuition rate she said would be $24,053 next year; projected charter enrollment cited in the presentation was roughly 679 students.

- Special education (BOCES): the BOCES line for out-of-district special-education placements was shown as rising $3.8 million. Cartosano said the district lacks in-district classroom space for several mandated special-education programs, requiring placements out of district at higher tuition cost.

- Staffing and benefits: Cartosano attributed $2.2 million of the increase to salaries (about $1.9 million of that for support staff as a result of negotiated changes), and about $1.5 million to increased employee benefits and retirement costs tied to higher salary totals.

- Other programmatic changes: the high school summer-school program must be restored to the general fund after COVID grant funds used in prior years expire; occupational education (OCED) tuition was shown increasing by about $588,000.

Capital projects and budget-neutral proposals

Cartosano presented two capital proposals she said would have no tax-rate impact: an energy performance contract (EPC) to fund energy-related work (solar, lighting, HVAC) paid from guaranteed energy savings, and kitchen/cafeteria renovations at Riley Avenue and Phillips Avenue elementary schools to be funded from reserve and capital fund balances and placed before voters on the May ballot. “It is required by law that the energy savings pay for the projects themselves,” Cartosano said of EPCs. She said she expected to return with vendor recommendations in April and to submit required state approvals.

Board and public discussion

Board members pressed for detail on the charter tuition increase and the interplay among space constraints, BOCES placements and the charter bill. A member of the public representing RCFA (not named in the record) questioned why the district pays high charter tuition while the charter’s publicly posted per-pupil spending appeared lower; the commenter also noted the charter board is not locally elected. Cartosano answered that the district must pay the state-set tuition rate and that charter payments also generate related district costs such as transportation, nursing and textbooks.

Cartosano and other administrators repeatedly emphasized the linkage among program choices, physical space and cost: without in-district classroom space for specialized classes, the district said it must place students out of district at higher cost, which in turn increases the district’s overall tuition and related costs.

Context and next steps

Cartosano said the budget hearing will be May 6 at the district middle school, and the annual budget vote and trustee election will be May 20 at the high school (polls 6 a.m.–9 p.m.). She said more detailed slides on charter costs would be posted separately on the budget web page. The board took no formal budget vote at the meeting; Cartosano’s presentation was informational and part of the public budget-review process.

Ending

The board’s budget review continues; administrators said they will return in April with additional detail on the EPC vendor proposals and the cafeteria renovation plans, and the district will post detailed budget packets and the charter-cost slides online for public review.