The Islip School District has finalized and adopted the 2024-25 district budget, which maintains all current programs and services.

“We have no reduction or loss of programs at all,” shared superintendent of schools Dr. Dennis O’Hara. “We are very happy and proud to say that because of our internal budgeting and fiscal management in the previous years, we are in a good position to maintain all of our programs.”

The proposed budget totals $100,075,388, which is an increase of 3.57 percent compared to the current 2023-24 budget.

A minor increase is observed in the proposed budget’s tax levy. While the 2023-24 tax levy totaled $65,666,870, an increase of 1.96 percent brings the 2024-25 tax levy to $66,950,783. For an average single-family house in the district, taxpayers can expect to pay $9,384.33 (w/STAR) annually. If approved by the community, the 1.96 percent increase will result in an increase of about $15 per month in school taxes for the average single-family house.

The 2024-25 proposed budget is funded by $28,676,226 in state aid, $66,950,783 from the tax levy, and $4,448,379 from local revenues.

Expenditures for the budget include general support, instruction, transportation, benefits, debt service, and inter-fund transfers. The two largest expenditure increases for the proposed budget include an increase of $1,614,829 for instruction—which includes instructional staff, support staff, and services in program—and a $1,814,216 increase in benefits.

“The 1.6 million for instruction is related to contractual obligations to pay teachers, teaching assistants, administrators, etc.,” shared O’Hara during the final budget workshop on April 16, during which the budget was adopted. “The $1.8 million increase for benefits is almost entirely related to health insurance increases.”

Another significant change in expenditures is the decrease in debt service. A decrease of $384,816 is observed, as the district finishes paying off loans for construction projects.

Staff changes within the district are very minimal under the proposed budget.

“Unfortunately for one social studies teacher in the district who was in his first year, he won’t be returning because of our class sizes and our enrollment—not a budget cut. That’s simply a reduction in the teaching staff due to enrollment,” O’Hara shared. “We have a leave replacement in English that also will not be returning for the same reason, for enrollment class sizes, and we have a .5 reduction in a technology teacher again.”

A public hearing will be held for the proposed 2024-25 budget in the Islip High School auditorium at 7 p.m. on May 13. The budget vote and board of education election will take place on May 21 in the Islip High School gymnasium from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.