Thursday, October 1, 2026
Hewlett-Woodmere School District Board of Education trustees voted unanimously to adopt a proposed budget of just over $149.95 million for the 2026-27 school year, a 4.8 percent increase over the current spending plan.
The public vote on the proposed school district and Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library budgets, as well as the election of two Board of Education trustees, is scheduled for May 19, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., at the Woodmere Education Center.
The budget — Proposition 1 on the ballot — includes $4.2 million in capital reinvestments for building and facility improvements across the district. This encompasses HVAC system upgrades, athletic field renovations, the replacement of Hewlett Elementary School’s exterior doors, floor repairs at Franklin Early Childhood Center and Hewlett High School, and repaving and maintenance of the Hewlett High parking lot on East Rockaway Road.
Mandated contractual costs for the district, such as special education; employee benefits; transportation; Board of Cooperative Educational Services, or BOCES; and insurance also factor into the spending increase.
The budget also includes a 2.61 percent increase in the tax levy, the total amount the district needs to collect in taxes to fund its planned spending. The hike is below the state tax cap, but up from this year’s 1.75 percent increase.
At a March 1 budget draft meeting, the district initially projected next year’s tax levy increase at 3.04 percent, with nearly $2.84 million dedicated to district improvements. Through extensive work spearheaded by Superintendent Dina Anzalone and Richard Snyder, assistant superintendent of business operations, the district increased funding for improvements while reducing the tax levy.
“We were able to identify $1.8 million that had previously been voter-approved and reauthorize it,” Anzalone said. “This is at no additional cost to the taxpayer.”
Asked why the money had not been used sooner, Snyder, who joined the district in March, and has two decades of experience working with school finances, said, “It’s going to sound self-serving, but you have to hire experienced administrators that know where to look. If you end the year with a surplus, you never effectively needed the money. You don’t have to use the money, but it’s been sitting there dating back to the 2015-16 school year. It’s time to bring it back.”
Snyder said that the district would need to talk about tax levy management at a public meeting in the future, because construction work directly affects the tax levy. “The more work you do,” he said, “the more the levy can fluctuate, based on how the tax cap formula works.”
He noted that while this year’s spending plan looks strong, the use of reserves — a finite resource — only serves as a one-time structural buffer to protect taxpayers.
The district estimates that school taxes for 2026-27 will average $15,861, a $468 increase over the current school year.
The Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library budget — Proposition 2 on May 19 — totals just under $6.58 million, an increase of 0.3 over the current spending plan. It was presented by Director Michelle Young at the library board of trustees’ final budget work session on March 16, and approved unanimously.
Next month’s ballot will also include the election of two Board of Education trustees. Shari Amitrano and Cheryl May, both incumbents, submitted petitions to run again for three-year terms. They are both running unopposed.
In a statement to the Herald, school board President Debi Sheinin said the trustees are proud of their work during this budget season — including the half-dozen public meetings and a Budget 101 session — which began in November.
“The result is a plan that reflects months of careful work and strikes a strong balance between advancing student outcomes and maintaining fiscal responsibility to our community,” Sheinin wrote.
For more information on the budget, visit hewlett-woodmere.net/district/business-office/budget-development-2026-2027-schoool-year.
