Kings Park district flags $2.3 million budget gap as board approves 2026–27 calendar and routine business

Kings Park Central School District Superintendent Dr. Egan said the district’s first draft for next year’s budget is a little over $114 million, up from a current‑year total just under $110 million, and left the board with what he called an “uncomfortable budget gap” of about $2.3 million.

At a board budget workshop and regular meeting on Jan. 27, Dr. Egan told trustees the apparent 3.85% increase shown in the governor’s budget is misleading for local operating purposes because the governor’s proposal boosts universal pre‑kindergarten (UPK) aid. That UPK increase — from roughly $5,400 per seat to $10,000 per seat in the governor’s proposal — would fully fund UPK seats but is not general‑purpose revenue the district can use to pay other bills. "Our actual revenue increase from the state is 1.15%," Dr. Egan said.

He identified the largest local budget pressures as health insurance and general liability insurance, rising special‑education costs, and technology and cybersecurity needs. "We still have that uncomfortable budget gap of a little over 2,300,000.0," he said, adding the district will continue to refine figures between now and May.

Information technology staff told the board parts of the network are approaching end-of‑life and proposed replacing wireless access points (about 450 across the district), two primary data servers and two firewall units over the coming year. The IT lead recommended shifting a small amount in the budget to prioritize hardware replacement and noted the district expects to recover a portion of eligible costs via the federal E‑Rate program (about 40% reimbursement) and through BOCES purchasing.

Principals from Parkview, Fort Salonga, RJL (intermediate), the middle school and high school outlined school‑level priorities that contributed to the budget requests: literacy and math program funding, expanded social‑emotional assemblies, enrichment and extracurricular supports, and building‑aesthetic and diploma‑readiness work at the high school.

Votes at a glance

- School calendar approved: The board approved the 2026–27 school calendar, which includes students in session two days before Labor Day and built‑in possible "give back" snow days; motion passed. (Motion introduced and approved at the Jan. 27 meeting.)

- DMV settlement approved: The board authorized a settlement with the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles to resolve 13 transportation violations for a payment of $6,500 and authorized the superintendent to execute the agreement.

- Suffolk County Health settlement approved: The board authorized payment of $550 to resolve three minor violations cited by the Suffolk County Department of Health related to the school bus garage and authorized the superintendent to execute the agreement.

- Field trip: Approved a high‑school DECA trip to the New York State DECA competition in Rochester, NY, March 3–6 (approximately 6–10 students, grades 9–12).

- Personnel and other routine approvals: The board accepted two retirements (Ken Janssen and Teresa Gran Rosa), approved substitutions and other personnel items on the personnel schedule, accepted a $185 donation from the Fort Salonga PTA for a mini‑museum, authorized disposal of obsolete technology equipment, added new vendors to the approved vendor list, authorized a special‑education services contract with South Huntington UFSD for 2025–26, accepted 21 IEPs from recent CSE meetings, appointed Michael Lozano as an impartial hearing officer, and approved several community flyers for distribution.

What this means

Dr. Egan said the district will continue to narrow the gap with further budget adjustments and by tracking state budget negotiations in Albany, where the governor’s proposal is the first step and the Assembly and Senate will produce their own plans in coming weeks. He encouraged community members to contact their state representatives as the process unfolds.

Board members and administrators said priorities for closing the gap will include continued review of staffing aligned to enrollment, use of fund balance and reserves, and pursuing aidable funding avenues for technology and infrastructure to reduce net local cost. The district will return with updated budget figures and staffing proposals in subsequent workshops before final budget adoption in the spring.

Next steps

The board set the next budget workshop for Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Kings Park High School and said administrators will bring updated numbers and options to reduce the projected $2.3 million gap in the coming weeks.