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Oceanside board reviews program component of 2025–26 budget, flags BOCES and special-education costs
Summary
At a Feb. 12 Board of Education meeting, the district presented Budget Workshop No. 2 covering the program component — about 75% of the operating budget — and highlighted projected increases for BOCES services, digital licenses, copier leases and special-education tuition; a final tax levy and revenue review is scheduled for March.
At its Feb. 12 meeting, the Oceanside Union Free School District Board of Education received Budget Workshop No. 2, a line-by-line review of the program component that district staff said represents roughly 75% of the district’s operating budget for 2025–26.
"The figures represented tonight are our best estimates based on the current data we have at this time for the 25‑26 budget," Dr. Coakley said as he introduced the program-component pages and asked the board to direct questions as staff reviewed pages 6, 8, 10–18 and 22.
The workshop itemized several changes that staff said were largely outside the district’s immediate control or driven by principal and director requests. Highlights included: an increase in the network copier lease (the district said it will cover 26 larger, centralized copiers and move other devices into a managed print agreement); shifts of some training and software costs into BOCES codes to align with New York State transparency reporting; a rise in digital textbook and license needs, particularly for mathematics; and higher projected tuition and related services for students with disabilities to match current and anticipated enrollment.
Board members and the presenter debated several line items. Mr. Kaplan asked whether the larger copier lease would reduce the number of individual printers; staff replied the copier code is for main-office machines and a separate managed-print-services agreement will address smaller printers. Student government president Dennis Yoshabaya asked about a noted decrease in science equipment; staff said capital work under the district’s Phase 5 project may explain some shifts and directed curriculum/ capital questions to the appropriate administrator. On special-education costs, a BOCES vocational tuition line of $642,000 was cited; staff indicated the backup shows that figure covers tuition for 36 students in the skills program.
Staff described summer school estimates as provisional and tied to the number of students who ultimately require summer credit recovery after Regents and year-end grades. The district said it expects the BOCES estimate for summer programs to be refined as student counts become clear. On athletics, proposed increases covered equipment, game uniforms, cheer choreography, new wall padding in the high-school gym and replacement and recognition banners.
The presentation closed with calendar and next-step details: the district said the budget vote and board of education election are scheduled for May 20, 2025, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Merle Avenue gym (School 6), and that Budget Workshop No. 3 — covering revenue, staffing, state aid and the tax-levy calculation — will be March 12.
Board members and staff repeatedly emphasized the figures remain preliminary and that the board had received the supporting pages in advance for review. "We will stop at the conclusion of each page to take questions," Dr. Coakley told the board, noting the process is ongoing and the district will return with updated numbers as state aid and other variables become firmer.
Less-critical line items, additional questions and staffing-related clarifications are expected at the March workshop; staff urged community members with questions to call the district office for specifics.
