Sachem budget outlook: modest state aid rise, UPK rules leave district covering a funding gap

At the Jan. 22 meeting of the Sachem Central School District Board of Education, district finance staff laid out the preliminary 2025–26 budget and said state aid rose modestly but left significant gaps for the district to close.

Finance staff member Michelle told the board they received new state aid figures the day before and that “we did see a $2,900,000 increase in our foundation aid,” but once other aid categories were factored in the district’s total state-aid increase was about $1,200,000 (0.9 percent) over the current year.

The presentation said Universal Pre-K (UPK) aid is accounted for in a separate special-aid fund and therefore cannot be used for general fund operations. The district reported UPK funding on the state runs at $3,100,000 but said it can only use roughly $2,100,000 because classroom space limits enrollment; the district estimated it must subsidize the…