This page is designed to provide Wantagh School District residents with budget information in a transparent manner. The budget that is discussed initially is one that is prepared by district administrators with direction from the Board of Education. However, with Board and community input, the Board of Education formally adopts the final budget to be presented to the voters.
Please check back as the information contained on this webpage will change as the budget development progresses and links become active.
EXPENDITURES
The proposed 2025-26 budget is $94,716,136.
This represents a $2,976,579 or a 3.24% change from the prior year.
TAX LEVY
The estimated tax levy for 2025-26 to support the expenditure budget currently totals $68,990,309.
This represents a $1,938,759 or 2.89% change from the prior year.
This tax levy amount is within the tax cap.
TAX CAP
The calculated maximum allowable tax levy for 2025-26 (the "tax cap") is $1,938,795.
This represents a 2.89% change from the prior year.
Public Budget Forum #1 – Video / Presentation
New Date – Monday, March 12, 2025 (Changed from March 10th due to girls varsity basketball county finals)
7pm - WHS
Public Budget Forum #2 – Video / Presentation
Monday, March 24, 2025
7pm - HS South Cafeteria
Public Budget Forum #3 - Video / Presentation
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
7pm - HS South Cafeteria
Budget Forum – Presentation
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
10am - Wantagh Public Library
*Budget Adoption (Regular Board meeting)
Thursday, April 3, 2025
8pm - HS Auditorium – Video
*Budget Hearing (Regular Board meeting)
Wednesday, May 8, 2025
8pm - HS Auditorium – Video
Budget Vote and Trustee Election
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
7am – 9pm - All district elementary schools
The ballot will contain multiple propositions, as well as a section for the election of Trustees to the Board of Education. Details of each proposition are listed below.
Proposition One is the school district budget. Detail about the proposed expenditures, revenue, tax cap and other information can be found on this web page.
Proposition Two requests community consideration to spend $2,100,000 from the district’s capital reserve funds for the purpose of
The actual proposition language is as follows:
“Shall the Board of Education be authorized pursuant to Section 3651 of the Education Law to expend an amount not to exceed One Million Nine Hundred Ninety-One Thousand Dollars ($1,991,000) (including accrued interest) from the Capital Reserve Fund established by voters of the School District at the annual meeting held on May 15, 2018, and to expend an amount not to exceed One Hundred Nine Thousand Dollars ($109,000) (including accrued interest) from the Capital Reserve Fund established by voters of the School District at the annual meeting held on May 21, 2024 (“Reserve Funds”) for the following projects: Roof replacement at Wantagh Elementary School main building, ceiling replacements at the Wantagh Middle School and Wantagh High School, Wantagh High School auditorium lighting replacements and upgrades, and security camera and related network upgrades and replacements districtwide; all of the foregoing to include site improvements, furnishings, equipment, apparatus, machinery, demolition and other incidental work or improvements required in connection therewith, and to expend from the Reserve Funds therefor, including preliminary costs and costs incidental thereto an amount not to exceed the total estimated cost of Two Million One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($2,100,000) (including accrued interest); such costs of the components of the capital improvements/projects may be reallocated among such components/projects as the Board of Education shall determine to be in the best interest of the District.”
All of the revenue, expenditure and tax cap details for the 2025-2026 budget can be found in the sections below.
2025-2026 Comprehensive Budget
Presupuesto Integral 2025-2026
The links below are all the same version of the proposed budget but with differing levels of detail.
The 3 Part format is required by NYS law and reports budgeted expenditures in 3 categories, namely administrative, program (instructional) and capital.
The tax levy cap legislation continues to effect school district budgets, including the 2025-2026 school year (this proposed budget).
It is important to note that the cap is the growth in the tax levy (the amount of taxes collected to run the district) and not a cap on tax rates or individual tax bills. Tax bills will fluctuate, up or down, in amounts that may exceed 2%.
The information presented here is designed to provide residents with the components of the actual calculation of the tax cap for Wantagh UFSD.
The tax levy cap also sets budget approval requirements. A proposed budget with a resulting tax levy at or below the cap requires only a simple majority for approval. A proposed budget that exceeds the cap requires a 60% majority of voter approval.
The following are reproduced with permission from Capital Region and Questar III BOCES:
Fórmula para el “tope” del impuesto sobre la renta de Nueva York: ¿cómo se calcula?
Wantagh 2025 -2026 Budget Newsletter
In accordance with NYS law, the following documents are required to be provided to district residents:
School District Report Card informtation can be obtained directly from the NYS Education Department website.
For convenience, all of the latest report card information can also be accessed at the link below.
Combined Report Card Information For:
Fiscal Accountability Supplement (This data is from 2022-23. 2023-24 data will be made available at data.nysed.gov)
Questions about the budget may be addressed to any of the following: