The North Shore School District unanimously adopted its $125 million budget for the 2025-2026 school year, which the district said reflected its core values while managing the challenges of fiscal uncertainty.
The adopted budget, a 2.4 percent increase from the prior year, has one of the smallest increases from year to year in the district's history. Before its adoption, Board President Andrea Macari and District Superintendent Chris Zublionis praised the budget and the district.
Macari pointed out the district's success over the year, including strong statewide math and English exam scores for grades 3-8 and an AP Platinum Distinction with Access, a high level of recognition within the AP School Honor Roll.
“Our schools will be well-positioned to continue our exceptional programs that we all know and love in academics, fine and performing arts, athletics, and special education,” said Macari. "Our achievements are widespread. We should all be appreciative that North Shore is excelling."
Trustee Maria Mosca praised the district's enrollment numbers, which have remained steady at around 2,500 students in recent years. This is even as public school districts across Nassau County are contending with declining enrollment, a trend that is reshaping school operations, staffing, and financial planning.
Zublionis thanked the North Shore community, board trustees, and Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Carolyn Smyth and James Pappas, assistant superintendent for business.
"This is a huge process, and it is unique given what we have gone through over the past few years," Zublionis said. He added that crafting the budget was a "thoughtful, intellectual, inquiry-driven process like anything we do here at North Shore."
At the first presentation of the proposed budget, Zublionis drew an allusion to the district's budgetary future and a foggy morning. "If you've ever driven across the viaduct on a foggy day, even though we've been over it thousands of times, it's scary," Zublionis said. "Because you can only see ten feet in front of you,"
While district revenues are stable for now, the district could face a more than $8 million revenue loss due to tax changes from the
2022 settlement between the county and the LIPA Glenwood Landing in the 2027-2028 school year.
The loss of revenue due to the LIPA settlement has significantly impacted the district and its taxpayers. Twenty-five years ago, homeowners in the district paid about 55 percent of the district's share of taxes; that number today is more than 80 percent of the district's tax class share. According to Zublionis, school tax bills could vary based on the increase in a home's value each year.
Increasing costs in the upcoming year stem from employee benefits, rising salaries, and the implementation of a new curriculum. This year's budget introduced a proposed tax levy of roughly 2.9 percent for the next year, which hovers below the peak 3.195 percent allowable tax levy the district can impose.
During the budget creation process, the board hosted budget review sessions in March and April. In addition, the district hosted "What Makes Us, Us" sessions with parents and administrators throughout March, concluding on April 2 with a community meeting at the North Shore Middle School Library.
While the district acknowledged uncertainty in the years ahead, there are some areas where the district has clarity for the upcoming year, including enrollment, the number of sections offered to students, programs, staffing, tax base, tax share, revenue loss, mandated costs, and inflation.
Employee benefits, rising salaries, new curriculum implementations, various special education services, increases to security, costs of supplies and contracts, and contracted transportation for special education account for roughly 77 percent of the budget increase, according to Zublionis.
The budget will be put up for a vote on May 20, with polls opening at 7 a.m. and closing at 10 p.m.
As the school year ends, districts across the country will prepare for budget and board votes. In addition to voting on the upcoming school year's budget, voters can choose their community representatives on the Board of Education. Candidates had until April 21 to announce their intentions to run.
This year, four trustee positions are open on the North Shore School District's Board of Education, all of which are running unopposed.
Incumbent Trustees Lisa Cashman, Jessica Dillon, and James Svendsen will be running for re-election. Brian Hanley, a newcomer, will be running for the first time to fill the open seat left by Richard Galati, who previously left the board last November.
After adopting the budget, over 90 North Shore students from across the district were recognized for several Fine and Performing Arts and English Language Arts Awards. Several students were also recognized for medaling at the Long Island Math Fair.
