Sewanhaka adopts $244.7M budget for 2023-2024 year

BY BRANDON DUFFY

or under construction for the analysis.

Projects include a 60-unit mixed-use building at 733-41 Middle Neck Road, a 38-unit mixed-use building at 777 Middle Neck Road and the 20-unit structure that is planned to be built at the site of the former Playhouse in Great Neck Estates.

Tina Lund, president of Urbanomics, said the five-year enrollment trends, birth rates and retention rates yielded a result of 20 school-age children per 100 units. Urbanomics tested their model with four multi-family structures, 437 total units, in Great Neck, which yielded a projected 86 students.

The actual enrollment between all four structures was 92, which produced more accurate results than other methods used in demographic analysis, such as the Rutgers Multipliers.

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The Sewanhaka Board of Education unanimously adopted a $244.7 million budget for the 2023-2024 school year Wednesday night.

The budget represents a $17.3 million, or 7.63%, increase budget-to-budget from the current one of $227,351,685.

The tax levy increases by 2.33% from the current year, which falls under the 2.59% allowable growth factor, which is determined by the state.

State aid accounts for 82.5% of the $17.3 million increase in revenue, totaling $72.2 million, a $14.3 million increase from the current year. State aid numbers are according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget, which has not been finalized yet.

Based on the 2022-2023 district enrollment numbers of 7,770 students, Sewanhaka is spending $31,491.82 per pupil.

Administration costs in the budget, a total of $29,463,085, are increased by 3.23% from the current year while program and capital costs have increased by 7.94% and 10.34%, respectively.

The budget presentation from the March Board of Education meeting included a 4.39% and 7.75% increase for the administrative and capital parts of the budget, respectively.

The curriculum focus in the upcoming school year is expanding science research programs in all schools, implementing financial literacy as a required course to graduate, introducing A.P. courses for Human Body Systems and Computer Science and enhancing the Real Estate and Investment course that is currently offered, among other things.

All five high schools in the district and the district itself will be starting multiple capital improvement projects this upcom- ing school year at a total cost of $2.4 million.

Elmont Memorial High School projects include replacing two exterior doors, upgrading auditorium light and sound systems, replacing perimeter fencing on the southeast side of the building, window glazing and steam trap replacements and main office upgrades.

Capital projects for Elmont are projected to cost $319,788.

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