Thursday, October 1, 2026
The North Shore School District’s $129 million budget passed by a vote of 1,141 to 463 on Tuesday night, before counting 60 absentee and early mail-in balltos. And Board of Education President Andrea Macari and Trustee Brian Hanley, who each ran uncontested, were re-elected, Macari with 1,174 votes and Hanley with 1,094.
“We have to thank everybody, right?” Macari said after the announcement of the results. “Everybody worked so hard.”
In February, district residents approved propositions for bond and capital-reserve funding projects at all five schools.
The 2026-27 spending plan is 2.9 percent larger than the current budget, largely due to employee benefits, contractual salary increases and special-education services that schools are legally required to provide. North Shore is also adding more special-education services at the elementary schools, so students who currently have to travel from one school to another for accommodations can remain at one school all day.
There are no cuts to positions or programs. The budget also includes allocations for new equipment, such as new buses that the district says are at the end of their useful lives. Funds are also earmarked for the addition of new Advanced Placement classes at the high school and the continued financing of AP exams. In March, Superintendent Chris Zublionis described the exams as an academic “equalizer” among students.
“I think it’s a statement on the community’s support of the schools,” Zublionis said after the budget vote, “and the level of support has increased over the last two years, and I think it’s a statement on the work the board has done, the district has done. Fiscally responsible and also maintain programs.”
While the district will lose $80,000 in revenue next school year because of the settlement between Nassau County and Long Island Power Authority’s Glenwood Landing plant, Zublionis said in March that this is a less significant impact than in recent years. He added that 2027-28 revenue loss from the settlement will present a larger challenge.
Macari was first elected to the school board in 2020, and has served as president since 2023. She said she was “ecstatic” that the community support the schools and students by voting to pass the budget.
“It is a great honor to serve this community again,” Macari said, “and I look forward to another three years of service.”
Hanley is completing his first term on the board. He said earlier this month that putting together the bond proposal that passed in February was a “great learning experience.”
“I am grateful to the community for their continued confidence and support,” Hanley said after being re-elected.
The district announced last month that Zublionis would be leaving North Shore, having accepted the superintendent’s position at Plainedge Union Free School District. His last day at North Shore will be June 30.
Tom Dolan has been selected to serve as interim superintendent beginning July 1. Dolan held the position at North Shore during the 2021-22 school year, prior to Zublionis’s appointment.
Macari said last week that bringing in Dolan while the district faces financial challenges “does put my mind at ease.”
The Board of Education is beginning the search process for a new superintendent, and has said it plans to have one in place by July 2027.
