Thursday, October 1, 2026
Rockville Centre school officials adopted the district’s $141.3 million 2026-27 budget Thursday night, approving a spending plan that restores some key staff positions but still includes significant reductions across multiple areas while keeping a tax increase within the state cap.
The vote took place during a packed preliminary budget hearing in the South Side High School Commons Room, where officials said the 1.03% spending increase reflects adjustments made after weeks of community feedback, discussions with the teachers’ union and internal review.
While the budget restores 13 facilitator positions — experienced teachers who provide instructional leadership and program coordination — the plan continues to include notable staffing reductions. Overall, the district will eliminate 22.2 teaching positions, including 19 excessed roles, along with 40 teacher assistant positions and one administrative post.
Additional reductions come through retirements and cuts to clerical staff, bus matrons and facilitator stipends, as the district works to align staffing with declining enrollment.
The spending plan carries a 2.06% tax levy increase, or roughly $2.25 million, while remaining under the state-imposed cap. District officials said the increase translates to an estimated annual tax hike of about $309 for a typical Rockville Centre home with an average taxable value of 645, though final amounts will vary based on Nassau County assessments.
Board President Kelly Bary, Vice President Donna Downing, Secretary Janet Gruner and Trustee Tara Hackett voted in favor of the budget. Gruner supported the adoption of the budget, emphasizing that while the decisions are difficult and emotionally charged for families, staff, and students, they are necessary to address ongoing structural challenges.
She acknowledged concerns raised by the community but said the district must move forward with immediate adjustments while continuing to refine plans in the future.
“I confidently feel that as hard as it is today, if we do not make the decisions that we're making now, we are going to be in the same position facing the same problems next year,” Gruner said. “For that reason, I think we need to make the hard choice now and then we need to regroup and build from it. I am voting to support the budget, and I urge the community to do the same.”
Trustee Erica Messier cast the lone dissenting vote — a move that drew applause from some audience members. Messier said she could not support the plan, citing concerns that it does not properly align resources with district needs, stretches staffing and services beyond effective limits, and lacks full transparency about the impact of its decisions.
“We are not aligning resources. We are stretching them beyond the point of effectiveness, and we are not being fully transparent about the impact of these decisions,” Messier said. “It would be a lot easier to accept this budget than to confront the harder questions it raises about alignment, priorities, and design, but my responsibility is not to do what is easy. It's to do what's sound, and in its current form, the proposed budget is not. For these reasons, I will not approve the adoption of this budget tonight.”
Rockville Centre resident Jeff Greenfield delivered a sharply critical assessment of the district’s financial direction during the public comment session, drawing on decades of experience attending school budget meetings to question the current fiscal outlook and leadership decisions.
"It's my 56th year of going to budget hearings,” he said. “And this is a great turnout, but it's probably one of the worst budget situations that I've seen in all those years. I don't know how we dug ourselves into such a hole. But I'm here to tell the truth. I'm here to tell you, you lost the confidence of the community as shepherds and stewards of our money.”
Another resident, Joseph Tursi, urged school officials to examine rising special education costs and consider bringing more services in-district to reduce expensive out-of-district placements and transportation expenses.
“We should be looking at how we can bring those students in-district,” he explained. “We would eliminate paying other districts for those children, we would eliminate transporting those children to another district, which is over a million dollars in the budget, and we could save some money there.”
The restored facilitator roles include positions at Francis F. Wilson and Jennie E. Hewitt elementary schools, as well as middle and high school assignments in core academic subjects and special education. A greenhouse facilitator position was also reinstated. The total cost of those restorations is just under $120,000.
Officials said additional staffing could be restored if state aid increases, with any new foundation funding expected to support teacher assistant positions aimed at small-group instruction.
Even with the restorations, district leaders emphasized ongoing financial pressures, including rising health insurance costs, declining enrollment and limited revenue flexibility under the state tax cap.
The budget also includes $2 million in capital projects, including renovations to the first floor of South Side Middle School and districtwide infrastructure upgrades.
Residents will have another opportunity to comment at a May 7 budget hearing before a public vote on the spending plan May 19.
