South Orangetown officials outline falling federal aid, draft tax levy and reserve plan ahead of budget workshops

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Operations Natalie Espinal told the South Orangetown Central School District Board of Education that federal aid streams and other revenue assumptions will be central to upcoming budget decisions.

"Back in the 23‑24 school year, we were allotted almost $400,000 in Title funds," Espinal said, and she told the board that ESSA-related allocations to the district have fallen sharply—she characterized the district's ESSA allocations as having decreased "by 50%" within the last two years. Espinal also reported large increases in participation in the state's universal free meals program, saying breakfast participation rose about 68% and lunch participation about 90% compared with the same months in 2024.

The presentation included a draft tax-cap calculation and a preliminary tax-levy figure. Espinal described the tax-cap formula used by the controller's office, explained typical exclusions (payments in lieu of taxes, capital exclusions), and presented a draft 26/27 calculation that used a district growth factor of 1.0036 (0.36%). She said the district's adjusted prior-year levy was $88,300,000, and the preliminary tax levy shown in the slides was $93,400,000, reported as an increase of about 2.54%, pending final BOCES exclusion amounts.

Espinal reviewed audited fund-balance figures as of 06/30/2025: roughly $114 million in revenues and about $109.7 million in expenditures, yielding an operating surplus of approximately $4.4 million and increasing total fund balance from $32 million to $36.5 million; unassigned fund balance remained at about 4%. She described a reserve plan that funds employer retirement contributions (ERS/CRS) and recommended limits such as funding up to roughly three years for some reserves. Espinal cited example reserve contributions (listed in the slides) including a one-time ERS funding amount of $2.5 million and an estimated subsequent-year contribution of $500,000.

Board members pressed for clarification about capital transfers and how reserves are being used. Espinal explained the $2 million annual transfer to capital does not increase unassigned fund balance but is assigned to the capital fund and is available for specific capital projects; she said using capital-reserve dollars for specific projects would require board and, where applicable, voter approval.

Board members and staff also discussed timelines and next steps for budget development. Espinal listed a preliminary presentation on March 10, a budget hearing and other dates shown on district slides; the district will continue its budget workshop process and expects to present a refined levy and recommendation as the BOCES and state aid figures are finalized.

The board adjourned the public meeting and moved immediately into a budget workshop to continue this work.