Patchogue‑Medford district outlines draft 2026–27 budget with $1.9 million operational increase

Patchogue‑Medford Union Free School District staff presented a draft 2026–27 budget at a budget workshop, saying the operational areas reviewed would increase by roughly $1.9 million, or about 9% in the lines discussed. The presentation said the district’s overall budget exceeds $240 million, with benefits and staffing remaining the largest components to be reviewed at later workshops.

The presenter, Mr. Maisie, said technology costs — including a large renewal for the district’s virtual-server host and a proposed $700,000 student-device replacement plan — are among the biggest drivers. He also flagged a roughly $480,000 rise in contractual transportation to meet routing needs and carrier rate increases, large insurance cost increases (about $500,000 across several insurance lines) and a $150,333 addition for legal services to account for more superintendent hearings and disability‑related legal claims. “We are finally getting round to budget workshop number one,” Mr. Maisie said as he opened the presentation and reviewed the proposed changes.

Why it matters: the district must file a draft of its property-tax levy calculation this week; under the tax‑cap formula Mr. Maisie summarized, the allowable levy growth factor is 2% (the district must use the lower of 2% or CPI), producing a draft maximum levy figure the presenter gave as $138,831,320 and a budget‑to‑budget levy growth of about $4.2 million (roughly 3.15%). Mr. Maisie told the board the administrative office expects to file the draft by Friday the 27th to meet filing requirements.

The presentation broke the operational drivers into categories. In administration and business-office lines the district reported small, single‑line changes (for example, a $105 increase in the board-of-education line and a $610 rise for the district clerk), while auditing services rose about $4,000 in response to RFP-driven contract costs. Facilities and maintenance increases were driven by higher utility costs, more repair work identified in the building condition survey and higher custodial-supply needs; the presenter cited a $20,000 increase for custodial supplies and a net facilities increase of just under $113,000.

On the security side, Mr. Maisie said a New York State security‑guard hiring fee contributed to a roughly 6% increase in the human-resources contractual line and security supplies were increased to cover uniform requirements and maintenance of new vape detectors and a roving security vehicle. Print services remain nearly flat aside from equipment replacement costs, and childcare expenses were shown as estimates offset by Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) revenues and program fees.

Transportation remains a notable operational pressure: besides replacement bus purchases (the district noted it could still purchase a gasoline bus this year under current state permissibility), staff reported a potential two‑year waiver that could delay required zero‑emission purchases but warned that contractual routing needs and carrier rate increases are driving a projected $480,000 rise on that line alone. Mr. Maisie summarized the transportation change as a $510,000, or about 5.32%, increase in total.

The district framed the proposed budget as a cautious, close‑to‑the‑vest draft, given the timing of state action and pending contract negotiations. No formal board vote occurred at the workshop; Mr. Maisie said staffing, benefits and additional instructional-area details will be covered at subsequent workshops, including a March 9 meeting focused on curriculum and a March 30 session on staffing and transfers to capital. The presentation will be posted on the business office web page.

What’s next: the board will continue budget workshops through March, finalize levy and transfer decisions in late March, and hold a budget hearing in May, with final adoption to follow.