The Locust Valley Central School District is looking to spend $24.8 million on instructional purposes and $4.6 million on special education as part of its 2026-2027 budget, administrators said during a board of education meeting on Wednesday, March 11.
Janine Sampino-Retmanski, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum & instruction, said the district wants to maintain and enhance high-quality instructional programs, prioritize student safety, well-being and inclusive practices, support whole-child learning and be fiscally responsible.
Sampino-Retmanski and other district officials highlighted a wide range of curriculum and instructional improvements throughout the district, including a growth in literacy and math, additional leadership opportunities, technology upgrades, an expansion of programs and updates to course offerings.
Administrators also said the district’s goal is to ensure that special education students don’t leave high school without a plan for adulthood, saying they believe in a multi-year transition of students into the real world.
Karen Horoszewski, the district’s assistant superintendent for business, discussed several curriculum and instruction, budget codes, saying that some specific budget codes may see increases in the district’s 2026-2027 budget due to salary increases.
She said the district plans to spend 24,827,160.20 for instructional purposes in the 2026-2027 budget, marking a $623,955.91 or 2.58% increase from the current spending plan, as well as $14,616,078.80 for special education, marking a $1,079,811.03 or 7.98% incresae from the current school year.
Horoszewski said the increase for special education spending is due to an anticipated increase in enrollments in out-of-district BOCES placements, the reclassification of a specific budget code and an increase in actual expenditures.
She also said the district is looking at spending $456,540.00 for occupational education and $880,108.50 for school libraries in the upcoming school year’s budget.
Horoszewski said the district’s $246,728.00 increase in spending for psychological services, which is expected to be $909,754.50 for the 2026-2027 school year, is due to an absence of prior-year federal funding that offset the costs of the specific budget code.
The district has yet to unveil its total proposed budget for the upcoming school year.
The Board of Education has one more budget meeting planned before it adopts the budget in April. The district is currently operating with a $98.2 million budget for the 2025-2026 school year.
The district said its allowable tax cap for the upcoming school budget is 2.84%, or $92,719,779. The district’s current budget includes a 2.3% tax levy increase totaling $90,158,181.
The Locust Valley Public Library also presented its $1,904,94 proposed budget for the 2026-2027 school year during the meeting, marking a $33,912 increase from its current budget. The library will receive $1,759,662 of its funding for the budget through property taxes and will have a 2.8% tax levy increase, which is within the allowable tax cap.
