Herricks Board of Education members, from left to right, Jim Gounaris, Shaheda A. Quraishi, Juleigh Chin, Maria Bono, Henry R. Zanetti
Herricks Public Schools
Herricks school district adopted its roughly $144 million financial plan, to be partially funded by a 2.0% tax levy increase, at its April 10 meeting.
Voters will cast ballots on the $144,543,210 budget for the 2025-2026 school year, up 2.0%, or $2,832,846, increase from this year’s $141,710,364 budget. According to a calculation by Schneps Media LI, Herricks spends $32,766.77 per student.
Though state aid numbers are not yet definite, Rutkoske has said the district expects to receive $27.9 million in state aid, an increase of roughly $600,000 from this year, which would fund approximately 20% of the proposed budget.
According to Superintendent Tony Sinanis and Assistant Superintendent for Business Lisa Rutkoske, who gave the presentation discussing this year’s budget breakdown and budget drivers, the budget outlays reflect 72.1% devoted to program, 16.4% toward capital and 11.5% toward administrative. These percentages come out to $104,220,012 for program, $23,692,374 for capital and $16,630,824 for administrative.
Sinanis and Rutkoske said this year’s budget drivers include teaching and learning, student wellness, safety and security, athletics and extracurriculars, transportation, facilities and infrastructure, and community.
Some proposed budget lines the two highlighted include an additional teacher at Herricks High School, continued funding to enhance Social Emotional Learning, special education and ENL services, increased cybersecurity systems, upgrades to musical instruments and athletic equipment and the purchase of three buses.
At previous presentations, the two have also described faculty and capital improvements included in the proposed budget, ranging from classroom refurbishment to the addition of security guards and security vestibules at buildings across the district to increasing cyber security. The board has also said playground upgrades at Denton Avenue School, replacement of high school windows, district-wide asphalt, concrete, bathroom and water fountains upgrades are included in the proposed budget.
Under the budget, voters will find a second proposition on the district’s May 20 ballot. Sinanis and Rutkoske said it will ask voters to approve the transfer of roughly $2.1 million from the district’s capital reserve to purchase new boilers for the community center and high school, something Sinanis has said is incredibly necessary for the district.
The board said its goals are to improve communication about the budget process and prioritize mental, social and emotional health.
Community members looking to learn more about the budget can attend the district’s budget hearing on May 8. The budget vote will take place on May 20 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m in the Community Center Gymnasium.
In order to vote, residents must be registered with the Nassau County Board of Elections.