Saturday, June 14, 2025
Residents of the Seaford Union Free School District will head to the polls next week to vote on a budget that includes facility upgrades, classroom renovations and infrastructure improvements, all without exceeding the state’s tax levy cap.
The $85.1 million spending plan, adopted last month, is 1.93 percent larger than the current budget and includes a tax levy increase of about 2.49 percent — well under the cap. According to Andrew Casale, the district’s assistant superintendent for business and operations, the levy is also lower than the average projected levy in Nassau County, which is around 2.55 percent.
“We always try to provide taxpayers with the most relief possible,” Casale said at an April 9 Board of Education meeting, “and this year we are not maxing out our levy.”
State aid for the 2025-26 budget, according to Casale, is estimated to be around $19.4 million, an increase of roughly 0.7 percent over the current year.
Capital projects will include upgrades to playgrounds at Seaford Manor Elementary School such as artificial turf replacement and the addition of inclusive playground equipment. Additional projects include renovations to the Career Development/Life Skills Program classroom and library at the middle school, renovations to high school cafeteria B, and the installation of a dust collection system in the high school’s woodshop.
In addition to the budget, voters will be asked to approve two propositions to use reserve funds for infrastructure, safety and security improvements. According to Casale, both propositions would come at no additional cost to taxpayers.
“This is money that we have saved,” he noted. “It’s not money that we have to go out and ask the community for or levy.”
Proposition 2 would authorize the use of up to $1 million from the 2018 capital reserve fund for the installation of a door-ajar alarm system at the middle and high schools, districtwide security camera upgrades and additions and renovations to the high school elevator.
Proposition 3 would authorize the use of up to $6.5 million from the district’s 2024 capital reserve fund for roof improvements at the Harbor and Manor elementary schools. At the April 9 meeting, Casale displayed photos taken after a recent rainstorm that showed water pooling on the roofs of both schools.
“Water should not be puddling up and remaining on the roof,” he said. “It should be draining down our roof drains, and it’s not.”
Also included in Proposition 3 are improvements to address water and drainage issues in the high school courtyard, which have impacted the school’s wrestling room. Casale said the district is considering several options to resolve the water intrusion, including installing a sub-slab drainage system along the interior perimeter of the basement and injecting grout into the foundation wall and slab. A third option, excavating and waterproofing the exterior wall, would prevent water from entering the building, allowing the district to repave the courtyard and creating a potential outdoor seating area.
The spending plan also includes the first year of a new five-year transportation services contract covering home-to-school transportation, athletic events, field trips and summer programs. The district estimates that the first year will cost $3.6 million, with the total cost of the agreement projected at $20.7 million over five years, based on current service levels.
At the April meeting, district Superintendent Adele Pecora described the budget as “robust,” noting that it balances facility upgrades and academic offerings while remaining within the tax levy limit.
“It provides our students with tremendous facilities,” Pecora said, “as well as academic programs, while staying under the tax levy.”
The budget vote will take place on Tuesday, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., at the Harbor and Manor schools. For more information, visit seaford.k12.ny.us.
