Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Budget 2025 topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bay Shore presents just‑over $202 million budget; levy near tax cap, state aid share rising
Summary
District business official Maureen Gargan presented a proposed budget of just over $202 million, a 2.4% rise from the prior year and near the 3.9% tax‑cap limit; the district highlighted staff‑heavy spending, expanded UPK, new courses and capital work.
Maureen Gargan, the district business official for the Bay Shore Union Free School District, presented a proposed 2025–26 budget of just over $202,000,000 at a public hearing, telling residents the plan preserves services while remaining close to the statutory tax‑cap limit.
Gargan said the proposed budget represents a $4,700,000 increase, or 2.4% over the current year, and that the district’s levy is “at the cap just about 3.9%.” She described a budget structured around personnel costs, noting that roughly 77% of the total supports instruction and staff‑related expenses including benefits: “Since 77% of our budget is staff … we are a labor intensive industry,” Gargan said.
The presentation summarized revenue and expenditure breakdowns: state aid totals about 38% of projected revenue (roughly $76.5 million), while the property‑tax levy accounts for about 61% (about $122.5 million). Gargan explained that the district does not set the local tax rate; the towns and assessors calculate assessments and a “base proportion split” from the New York State Office of Real Property Services determines how much of the levy is borne by homeowners versus commercial property. She said those assessment and proportion figures are not available until later in the summer, and the district will set the actual tax rate in September.
Gargan and other presenters highlighted program and capital priorities the budget supports: maintaining UPK for more than 300 students; completing a phase‑in of the k–2 dual‑language program at Mary G. Clarkson; adding new courses such as physics electives, “science of sports,” “science of sound,” AP precalculus and a broadcast journalism course at the middle school; and continuing supports for special education and English language learners. She also described planned capital work including high‑school bathroom renovations, classroom reconfiguration for a consolidated guidance/nurses/deans area and a security vestibule to create a single controlled entry, plus boiler replacements at Brook Avenue, Fifth Avenue and South Country schools.
Gargan noted some technology and instructional items have been funded by grants — for example, three Anatomage tables used in science classes were paid for with grant money, not the tax levy. She also said the district continues to borrow annually to fund operations until property‑tax revenues arrive (first tax payments on Long Island are typically in January) and that the five‑year average property‑tax rate increase for the district is about 2.5%.
Audience members asked about commercial tax grievances, pilot agreements and apartment development; Gargan and board members said the town is addressing a large grievance from a regional mall and that PILOTs (payments in lieu of taxes) and new development can affect local assessments. The meeting notice recorded that the district adopted the budget on April 23, 2025; the public hearing provided the opportunity for resident questions before the upcoming voter ballot.
After public questions, the board moved to executive session. No new votes changing the budget were taken at the hearing.
