Sachem board adopts $380.9 million 2025–26 budget; transportation proposition added to ballot

The Sachem Central School District Board of Education on April 9 approved a $380,900,000 expenditure budget for the 2025–26 school year and placed a separate transportation eligibility measure (Proposition 2) on the May 20 ballot.

The district presented the budget as a tax-levy-cap‑compliant proposal that represents a 1.77% increase, or $6.6 million, in expenditures from the current year. “The district is recommending we were putting forward an expenditure budget of $380,900,000,” budget presenter Michelle Sarakis told the board during the April 9 meeting.

The budget maintains current curricular programs, drama and music, most athletic programs, and funds a $9 million transfer to capital for infrastructure work (including roof and electrical projects, pool mechanical work and lighting upgrades) and the purchase of two large buses to replace spare vehicles. To balance the plan the district is using an appropriation of fund balance of $11,900,000 and $1,750,000 from restricted reserves, and projects a 2.2% increase in the tax levy (about $4.6 million).

Why it matters: district leaders said the plan holds instructional programs intact while using one‑time reserves and fund balance to bridge revenue shortfalls. Board members and the Budget Advisory Committee warned the approach is not sustainable if New York state aid does not increase materially in the coming year; several speakers said deeper cuts or structural changes will be required if revenue does not improve.

Budget details and Proposition 2 The proposed revenue mix is property taxes, state aid and miscellaneous revenues. Sarakis said the district received a late communication about the state budget and that the final state aid number remains uncertain. The budget presentation said projected average tax changes for homeowners are roughly $142 (Town of Brookhaven), $160 (Town of Islip) and $148 (Town of Smithtown), based on current assessments and equalization rates.

The board also put Proposition 2 on the ballot. If approved, Proposition 2 would change the district’s minimum walking-distance eligibility: for K–8 students the district would increase the minimum from one-half mile to one mile; for 9–12 students it would increase from one-half mile to 1.5 miles and reduce the district’s current maximum from 25 miles to 15 miles (the state maximum cited at the meeting). The district estimates the change would save about $1,750,000 in transportation costs.

Budget advisory committee support and community concerns Tina Pfeiffer, chair of the district’s Budget Advisory Committee, told the board the committee “supports Proposition 2,” the demographic/building utilization study, the capital projects and the use of reserves while urging attention to long-term reserve health. “The majority of the budget advisory committee supports the 2025–26 budget,” she said.

Public commenters and some board members urged clearer communication about how one-time reserves and PTA donations are being accounted for. Community member Jay Jones thanked district staff for outreach and urged continued clear language: “If we ever seem angry, know that we all have the same interest in mind, the children.”

A member of the budget advisory committee who opposed the recommendation, Bill Dowd, urged the board to examine a recurring pattern he described between projected budget gaps and year-end surpluses: “It seems to be a pattern,” he said, and recommended a closer review before accepting the budget adoption.

Board action and next steps The board voted to adopt the 2025–26 budget and to place Proposition 2 on the May 20 ballot. The motion to approve adoption of the budget was moved and seconded at the meeting; the transcript records the motion and subsequent vote but does not provide a full, named roll-call tally. The district plans a budget hearing on May 7 and the budget vote on May 20. If Proposition 2 passes, the district expects to return roughly $1.75 million to reserves after accounting adjustments; if it fails, the board next year will face decisions about how to cover that expense without drawing down reserves further.

The district also noted a planned demographic study to examine redistricting and building utilization; the superintendent’s office said the study will be scheduled to report earlier than initially proposed so the board can consider recommendations sooner.

Votes at a glance - Adoption of the 2025–26 budget of $380,900,000 — Motion moved; outcome: approved (precise roll-call tally not specified in the transcript).