The Port Washington Board of Education unanimously adopted its nearly $200 million budget for the 2025-2026 school year during a meeting on April 22.
The $199,007,128 budget is approximately $4.5 million, or 2.28% higher than the budget for the 2024-2025 school year. The tax levy increase for the upcoming school year will be at the state-mandated limit of 3.39%.
According to a calculation by Scheps Media LI using the district’s enrollment data and proposed budget, if the voters pass the budget on Tuesday, May 20, the Port Washington School District would spend around $37,000 per pupil in the upcoming school year.
“Thank you again, everyone who worked very hard on this budget,” said Port Washington Board of Education President Adam Smith.
The district’s budget priorities remain the same as in previous meetings, with budget drivers including health and safety upgrades, such as installing 10 air conditioning units and device charging stations for first and second-grade students.
Other budget priorities include funding for instructional programs that focus on lower elementary class sizes through the hiring of one to three teachers, science test kits and funding for JV cheerleading.
Later in the meeting, the Port Washington Board of Education approved the creation of an ex-officio student member of the board, who will be a rising senior at Paul D. Schreiber High School, to be voted on by ninth through eleventh grade students at the end of the school year.
While the ex-officio student board member is expected to attend all regular board meetings during the school year, they are not permitted to vote on board items or participate in executive board meetings.
Trustee Deborah Brooks, who is running for re-election to the school board on May 20, then discussed concerns regarding a law passed by Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier in the year that sets a maximum allowable classroom temperature of 88 degrees statewide.
Brooks said the board should consider the policy’s unintended consequences, such as how to plan for potential school closures or how to remove students from classrooms that exceed the temperature limit.
Trustee Sandra Alvarez and interim Superintendent Christopher Shields said the district will wait and see if there are any changes to the state policy before the next school year begins.
The Port Washington Board of Education will host a public budget hearing on Tuesday, May 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the Schreiber High School auditorium.
Voters will then decide whether to approve the nearly $200 million and vote for two Board of Education trustee positions, for which Brooks and community leader Jessica Melwani are running, on Tuesday, May 20, at Weber Middle School from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
