Wappingers proposes $321 million 2025–26 budget and $153 million-plus capital plan to add classrooms, services and buses

Wappingers Central School District Superintendent Dr. Bong presented a proposed $321,000,000 2025–26 budget and a separate capital project of about $153,000,000 during a district video presentation, saying the plans would add classroom space, expand special-education and English-language learner services, and fund a roughly $2,600,000 bus purchase if approved by voters.

The proposal would keep current academic programs and extracurricular activities, add special-education positions and an assistant superintendent for special education, expand language-based and ENL (English as a new language) supports, increase school safety staffing and replace aging buses. Dr. Bong said the proposed tax levy increase is 1.3 percent, below the district pplied tax-cap calculation of 1.57 percent, and that the budget relies on about $12,000,000 of general fund balance to lower the levy impact on taxpayers.

Dr. Bong framed the budget and capital request around three ballot propositions: Proposition 1, the 2025 '6 operating budget (about $321 million); Proposition 2, the capital improvement project (about $153 million); and Proposition 3, a bus purchase (just under $2.7 million). "The theme of this year's ballot presentation is building our future together," he said. He added, "The safety and security of our students and staff" is the district's top priority.

Why it matters: the district says elementary-classroom capacity is at or near capacity across multiple schools, limiting the ability to provide integrated co-taught (ICT), self-contained and bilingual classrooms in neighborhood schools. The district contracted Western Suffolk BOCES for a long-range planning study and released a facilities needs assessment showing classroom shortages at several elementary schools and modular classrooms nearing the end…