Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Malverne and West Hempstead boards of education both adopted budgets for the 2026-27 school year at their meetings on April 14. Districts officials revisited their revenues, expenditures and debt management.
Both districts’ boards discussed their tax levies, and the increases they expected. Malverne’s proposed levy is just over $50.9 million, an increase of 2.29 percent, and West Hempstead’s is $52.9 million, a 2.22 percent increase. Both increases are at or below the state tax cap.
Malverne
The Malverne school district committed over $1.6 million as additional revenue from its reserves, in order to close the budget gap. “We are able to support a budget with fiscally responsible use of reserves,” Superintendent Maria Rianna said.
The board presented its spending breakdown for 2026-27. Instruction costs and employee benefit costs will combine to account for about 78 of all spending. General support will comprise 10 percent, while transportation will be just over 8 percent. Debt services and interfund transfer expenditures will make up the last 4 percent.
Part of the general fund budget, according to Daniel Balzan, assistant superintendent for management services, is a $230,000 reorganization project at the Maurice W. Downing school library. The plan aims to change the floor plan to “increase access and opportunities for students and staff, and be able to use the spaces simultaneously,” Balzan said. “We can use this space for purposes like professional development, as well as special projects for students and staff and building meetings.
Rianna addressed the decrease in enrollment that is responsible for some of the reductions in the budget. “This is a trend in enrollment. It decreases over time and then increases years later,” she said. “We hope to see more trend data leaning towards bringing more of our community back into our schools.”
The board also spoke about its options if the budget is not approved in the vote o May 19. The district would either have to resubmit the same defeated budget to voters in June, offer a revised budget, or submit a contingency budget, which would require a reduction in spending of over $1.1 million.
West Hempstead
The West Hempstead district’s spending allocations are similar to Malverne’s. Instruction and employee benefits costs comprise about 70 percent of spending. Transportation accounts for 14 percent; general support, about 10 percent; debt service, about 4 percent; and interfund transfers and community services, 2 percent.
“West Hempstead is a relatively small, geographically compact school district, which creates a paradox,” Brian Phillips, assistant superintendent for business and operations, said. “Dense areas often have high transportation costs, because they serve large numbers of students attending private, parochial and charter schools, all of whom the district is legally obligated to transport under New York state law. This mandate is the single biggest driver of disproportionate costs for districts like West Hempstead.”
The board discussed its two main budget challenges, transportation and health insurance costs. Due to these non-instructional costs increasing, less of the budget is allocated to instructional areas. Over the past 10 years, the district’s transportation costs have increased by about $8 million, and its health insurance costs by about $5.5 million.
Transportation costs have increased by an average of about 11 percent yearly, and health insurance, by an average of about 5 percent yearly. Starting in 2024-25, West Hempstead’s transportation costs have been about 7 percent higher than the average Nassau County school district.
West Hempstead is expected to receive about $20.4 million in state aid in 2026-27, about $2.1 million more than this school year. The district also has $1.9 million in reserves, and plans to use a total of $4.9 million from its reserves and fund balance.
The budget votes will are scheduled for May 19, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Malverne vote will be held in the middle school gym, and the West Hempstead vote in the secondary school’s north gym.
