East Meadow board hears second budget presentation; trustees do not adopt budget tonight

The East Meadow Union Free School District Board of Education received a second presentation of the proposed 2026–27 budget on April 15, during which administrators outlined enrollment, revenue and capital plans and urged the board to adopt the spending plan at a future vote.

"From 2024–25 to the projection for 26–27, the district is down almost 300 students," the budget presenter said, noting that many state-aid lines are enrollment-sensitive and that declining enrollment lowers expected aid. The presenter put the proposed total expenditure budget at $286,776,667 and said the allowable tax levy calculation yields an estimated levy of $166,103,024 — a $4.6 million increase, or about 2.86% compared with the prior year—subject to exclusions and final state action.

The presentation explained the three-part budget structure (administrative, program and capital), and administrators emphasized that salaries and benefits — including ERS and TRS retirement costs — and high special-education and transportation costs are the district’s largest drivers. "That is the only place in this entire formula that the 2% appears," the presenter said when describing the allowable-levy calculation.

Administrators also described roughly $3,000,000 in proposed capital projects and said they are trying to align facilities work with curricular goals. "One of those is the Clark Cafe" — a plan to reuse an unused space between cafeterias as a student-run café and school store for students in the REACH program — and a separate proposal would establish a state-approved CTE pathway for medical assisting at East Meadow and Clark High Schools. The district also proposed renovating Clark’s carpentry room to industry standards to expand students’ real-world career opportunities.

Officials said contingency planning is underway if voters reject the budget: a contingency budget would hold the levy at the current year’s adopted level (0% increase) and likely require eliminating capital projects, charging for facility use, deferring equipment purchases and reconsidering staffing levels. "If the current budget doesn't pass...there's a 0% levy increase and unfortunately a bunch of things would have to be eliminated," the presenter said.

The presentation closed with a calendar of next steps: the administration said it hoped the board would accept the budgets so the tax levy could be submitted the following day, with a follow-up budget meeting scheduled for May 6 and voter-registration available through May 14. The transcript does not record a motion or vote to adopt the budget during the April 15 meeting.

Trustees proceeded to other agenda items and approved multiple consent items later in the meeting, but no board motion to adopt the 2026–27 budget appears in the meeting record.

What happens next: the district said it will keep the community informed and that board and public deadlines on the budget calendar remain May 6 (next meeting) and the voter-registration deadline on May 14.