Monday, June 16, 2025
The Oceanside School District has proposed a $186.7 million budget—precisely $186,704,215— for the 2025-2026 school year, representing a 2.93 percent increase from the previous year while maintaining all existing programs and services.
At the May 7 night’s final public hearing on the proposed budget, Oceanside School District officials outlined the budget plan to spend.
“Our proposed expenditures remain in full compliance with all K–12 state regulations, including mandates for students with disabilities and mental‐health guidelines,” said Assistant Superintendent for Business and Operations Jerel Cokley. Oceanside allocates 77 percent of the budget to classrooms, special education, athletics, music, technology and counseling services.
Oceanside relies on three main revenue sources to balance the districts nearly $187 million spending plan. Local revenues—totaling $16.1 million—include payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT), a payment arrangement through which non-profit or tax-exempt entities contribute to the tax base; the seven-year “glide path” of direct assessments the district and LIPA devised to mitigate the effects of reduced tax revenue over time, following a settlement agreement, under which the district receives fixed payments to offset reduced tax revenue; interest earnings from bank investments that have risen alongside favorable market rates; and income such as facility rentals, vendor reimbursements and donations. The district is in year four of this glide path.
State aid, currently projected at approximately $38.7 million, is the categorical funding New York State provides based on a district’s assessed wealth and enrollment; recent U.S. Census updates and the closing out of major science-wing and library capital projects have increased Oceanside’s building-aid portion. The largest single source is the property tax levy of $131.7 million—an increase of 1.1 percent, well within New York’s statutory tax-cap limit, the maximum annual increase in property taxes.
“Oceanside prides itself on levying only what is needed to support student programs and services,” Cokley said.
Budget highlights include preservation of all existing programs, maintenance of full-time staffing levels through natural attrition, and continuation of the district’s one-to-one Chromebook/iPad initiative for every K–12 student. Facility improvements funded through the capital component (13 percent of the budget) range from general renovations and parking-lot maintenance to security upgrades in collaboration with the Altaris Consulting Group. Beginning this summer, Phase 5 of the high-school science-wing renovation will be undertaken, following four earlier phases and the recent middle-school library expansion. Oceanside will again offer Universal Pre-K to eligible four-year-olds at no cost under its state grant, budgeting for 287 seats—a “budget-neutral” program that neither adds to nor subtracts from the local tax burden.
Voters on the May 20 ballot will also decide on Proposition 2, the Oceanside Library’s funding request. Library Director Chris Marra explained that sustaining expanded services, such as the “Library of Things,” — a collection of items, beyond traditional library materials like books and DVDs, that patrons can borrow — a Seed & Cutting Library which is the collection of seeds and cuttings that community members can borrow for gardening purposes, “Tonieboxes,—screen-free audio players designed for young children, which play stories, songs, and other audio content through the use of small, magnetic figurines called Tonies. The maintenance of these library features, along with new security personnel, would cost the average household roughly $36 per year (about $3 per month).
“We are happy to preserve all programs and services and continue to offer a well-rounded education for all students,” Cokley said.
The district’s budget vote and library proposition will be held on May 20, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Merle Avenue School gym.School Board President Michael D’Ambrosio and Trustee Robert Transom are running for re-election and are unopposed.
