The Sewanhaka Central High School District proposed a $225.2 million budget for the 2022-23 school year Tuesday night, a 4.4 percent increase from the current year.
The proposal calls for an increase in the tax levy of $4,423,380, or 2.87 percent. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the increase fell below the state-mandated cap.
Officials proposed the initial draft at a Board of Education meeting and it will go through changes, if need be, at additional meetings before the public votes on the budget on May 17. If approved, the budget will take effect July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year.
Of the $225.2 million budget, the district projects state aid to be $58,575,588, a $10,059,078 increase, and general revenue to equal $166,652,219.
The proposal was broken down into three parts, including administrative, program and capital.
For the 2022-23 school year, administration is slated to cost $28,736,792, a $1,148,070 increase, or 4.16 percent.
Programming is expected to amount to $170,039,521, a nearly $7.5 million increase, or 4.57 percent.
Programming includes instruction, the library, health services, extracurricular activities, athletics, transportation, adult education and others.
Among the new courses in the proposal are real estate law and investments for business, a seminar and research A.P. capstone class for English, international foods for family and consumer science, principles of biomedical science for science, and app design, robotics and coding for technology.
The capital portion of the budget focuses on improving buildings and grounds, security and debt service. The budget calls for capital spending of $26,451,494, a $912,014 increase, or 3.57 percent.
The budget sets out capital projects in each of the five schools as well as the district as a whole. Throughout the district, schools will get improved gymnasium curtain dividers and exterior doors.
Elmont Memorial High School is to get a replacement for the cafeteria floor among projects totaling $173,400.
Floral Park Memorial High School is getting sports lockers and refinishing of the main gymnasium floor, with projects totaling $186,448.
H. Frank Carey High School is getting a tennis court renovation, with projects totaling $818,420.
New Hyde Park Memorial High School has parking lot gates, fence replacements and sidewalk and ramp concrete repairs included among projects totaling $178,860.
Sewanhaka High School is getting new auditorium doors as well as a refinished floor in the small gymnasium among projects totaling $188,616.
According to the budget, the district is also getting a large bus lot repaved along with replacing the administration building roof at a cost of $252,572.
