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Sachem budget update: combined-wealth ratio rises, UPK expansion and tax-levy impacts explained
Summary
Administration told the board the combined wealth ratio rose to 0.89, trimming some state aid, reviewed the governor's UPK proposal (a $10,000-per-student full-day allocation beginning 2028'9) and explained a preliminary tax-levy calculation showing a proposed 2.37% increase; trustees discussed fund balance, reserves and next steps for expenditure review.
District finance staff presented the revenue portion of the 2026'7 budget to the board and explained several items trustees will need to weigh over the coming weeks, including shifts in state aid driven by the combined-wealth ratio, the governor's universal prekindergarten (UPK) proposal and the multi-step tax-levy cap calculation.
Michelle (presenting the revenue slides) said the district's combined-wealth ratio increased to 0.89 from 0.84 last year, a shift that reduces the state share of certain aid categories. "Our combined wealth ratio is 0.89," she said, and noted that the state share moved from about 47% to an estimated 45% in the latest aid runs.
UPK: The presentation summarized the governor's proposal to require full-day UPK for any four-year-old whose parents request it beginning in the 2028'9 school year, with a $10,000-per-student placeholder in the district's aid run. Administration said the proposal eliminates previous expansion grants and that the new consolidated per-student allocation would allow the district to pay outside providers for overflow students if facilities cannot accommodate all requests.
Tax levy: Sarakis walked the board through the tax-levy formula and reported a preliminary allowable levy increase of $5.1 million (about 2.3729%). She recommended filing the tax levy with the state comptroller by the March 1 deadline with the ability to revise before June if needed.
Fund balance and reserves: staff said they expect to close the 2025'6 year with surplus items that could make about $13.5 million available in appropriated fund balance but cautioned that one-time receipts (for example, building sales) are not recurring solutions and that systemic changes will be needed for sustained savings.
Next steps: administration will present expenditure-code and capital-project recommendations at upcoming meetings and return with clarifications about UPK implementation and the legislative positions the board might take.
