Monroe Woodbury Central School District Budget proposed

The Monroe-Woodbury Central School District proposed a $236.7 million budget for the 2025-2026 school year at its Wednesday, May 7, board of education meeting.

This represents a 5.88% increase over the current school year.

During the public hearing for the budget Monroe-Woodbury Board of Education meeting, Patrick Cahill, assistant superintendent for business and management services highlighted the district’s investments in such areas as security, special education and bussing.

Despite the significant overall increase, Cahill said the district was able to keep the tax levy on residents at just a 1.5% increase because of an increase in state aid and district reserves.

Cahill also reviewed the district’s proposed $16.6 million capital project investment, which will be part proposition two on the ballot when the budget comes up for a vote. As explained in earlier meetings, the proposed investment seeks to take advantage of previously approved capital work to perform building upgrades, including the installation of air conditioning in school buildings. Cahill said this capital project will have no tax impact on residents.

Speaking on behalf of the Monroe-Woodbury Teachers Association, President Darrell McElroy, expressed support for the budget, which he said was both fiscally responsible and maintains current programming and staffing. He also thanked Superintendent Dr. Tracy Norman for his inclusion of all stakeholders in the budget process.

“On behalf of our students and members, it represents a positive step and down payment on future investments that will improve student outcomes and quality of life we will always continue to advocate for what we think is best for our students and members because there’s always more work to be done,” said McElroy.

During the meeting Dr. Bhargav Vyas, Assistant Superintendent of Compliance and Information Systems for the district, updated the board on the district’s review of cell phone policy. He shared the district’s Distraction Free Learning Committee’s efforts to review the district’s cell phone policy ahead of New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed “bell-to-bell” mandate against student cell phone usage and access during school hours. As of the time of this writing, the mandate became official policy for the state.

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Eric Hassler updated the board on the district’s review of the Monroe-Woodbury guidance program, to ensure compliance with New York State regulations. He explained that the guidance plan must be presented to and approved by the board.