The Wantagh School District Board of Education adopted a proposed $94,716,136 2025-26 budget on Thursday, April 3. which would raise spending by 3.24% from the district’s $91,739,560 2024-25 budget.
District officials said that the budget is within the 2.89% tax levy cap.
District residents will vote on the budget in May and a proposition to spend $2.1 million from the district’s capital reserve funds in the 2025-2026 budget.
The capital reserves would be used to replace the roof over the main section at Wantagh Elementary, the ceilings at the middle and high schools, the lighting in the high school auditorium, and security cameras and related networks.
Voters will also be voting on the two board seats currently held by Jennifer Perfetti and Laura Reich. Wantagh School District public information officer Kimberly Thomas said both candidates plan to run for re-election.
The district had a public forum on Wednesday, April 2, where the board went over the budget at the Wantagh Public Library. The district began its public budget discussion in March.
The district said the 2025-26 budget estimates $22,810,000 in aid from the state, which marks 24% of the district’s total proposed budget. The state had been set to approve its budget by April 1 but had yet to do so as of the April 3 district budget adoption.
Carol Ann Winans, Wantagh’s executive director of Curriculum and Instruction for K-12, said the district would expand its WIN program to include third graders, add a new Learning Experience and Academic Preparation class at Wantagh Middle School for special education, and several programs to the district’s high school.
They include programs for broadcasting, interior and exterior construction, cybersecurity, and an EMT certification night course.
Wantagh community members will be going to the polls to vote on the board seats, budget, and proposition on Tuesday, May 20, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Wantagh Elementary School, Forest Lake Elementary School, and Mandalay Elementary School.
