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Seaford UFSD presents a $8.63 million proposed budget for 2026–27, flags smaller building aid and health‑insurance increases
Summary
District budget presenter Rhonda Mezer proposed a $8,632,965 2026–2027 budget with a 1.42% budget‑to‑budget increase and a maximum allowable tax‑levy rise of 2.26%. She noted a downward adjustment to expected foundation aid and rising health‑insurance and transportation costs.
Rhonda Mezer, the district's budget presenter, outlined a proposed 2026–2027 budget for the SEAFORD UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT totaling $8,632,965 and described how the numbers reconcile with changing state aid and local cost pressures.
"The total budget for 2026–2027 stands at $8,632,965," Mezer said, noting the package represents a budget‑to‑budget increase of $1,210,214, or 1.42 percent. She said the proposed maximum tax‑levy allowance is 2.26 percent, which translates to an estimated levy increase of $1,390,943.
Mezer said the district initially expected a larger state foundation‑aid boost under the executive budget but received a later adjustment. "We had to reduce the executive budget amount by $213,815," she said, describing the district's revised foundation‑aid increase as 3.76 percent rather than the earlier estimate.
She identified a continuing reduction in building aid driven by amortizations of older projects: as past building projects are paid off, the related building‑aid support declines. Mezer also walked the board through the revenue mix, including state aid, local tax levy, payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) from LIPA and Neptune RTS LLC, tuition and health‑service billings, interest income and appropriated reserves.
On the expenditure side, Mezer said instruction remains the largest single category and that contract salaries plus associated benefits account for roughly 75 percent of the budget. She highlighted several cost pressures: an estimated double‑digit uptick in some active health‑insurance rates and a 24.25 percent increase for retiree coverage; transportation contracts that reflect a 6 percent CPI adjustment in the second year of a five‑year agreement; and rising utilities and insurance premiums.
Planned capital work includes middle‑school bathroom renovations, completion of prior interior work in the middle school (including gym windows), and an improved high‑school access to an outdoor‑learning space that requires drainage and site work. Mezer said the district uses interfund transfers to support these projects.
Mezer described the timeline for adoption and public consideration: the board will consider formal adoption at an upcoming meeting, Nassau County BOCES districts will vote April 28, a district budget hearing is scheduled for May 6, and the public budget vote is set for May 19 with polling at Manor and Harbor elementary schools from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The board did not take a final adoption vote at this meeting; Mezer fielded no substantive amendments during the presentation. The board confirmed it will continue the budget process and notify residents of the hearing and vote dates.
