Locust Valley presents $100.25M 2026-27 budget, highlights safety projects and tax-levy restraint

District finance staff delivered the fifth public presentation of the 2026-27 budget, outlining assumptions, major line items and the calendar for adoption.

Key figures presented by the finance lead, Karen: the proposed budget totals $100,251,364, a 2.0% budget-to-budget increase. The proposed tax levy increase is 2.1% (the district said it could levy up to 2.84%), leaving approximately $669,000 of unused levy capacity. The district's unassigned fund balance stands at $3.9 million, approximately 4% of operations, and the budget includes a $2.5 million annual transfer to capital to fund safety and security work.

Karen described specific line-item changes: increasing the summer recreation program from $55,000 to $77,000 based on expected enrollment; projecting a 10% increase in health-insurance costs and an estimated hospital/medical insurance total of $13.9 million; a significant employer contribution increase in the New York State Employees' Retirement System (presented as a combined rate moving from roughly 6.5% to 17.6%); and a decline in the Teachers' Retirement System employer rate (from ~9.59% to ~8.24%). The board noted that the $2.5 million transfer to capital will be focused on safety upgrades including replacing classroom doors and installing electronic locks and swipe access.

Board members asked clarifying questions about what drives insurance and retirement changes, the assumptions behind interest-income projections, and the summer recreation program's path to self-sufficiency. A trustee cautioned that a failed budget vote would require the district to adopt the current year's budget and could force program cuts to absorb rising fixed costs.

The board set procedural dates: budget adoption on April 21 and the public vote and election on May 19, 2026.