District overview
How Syosset's public schools are funded, governed and building for the next few years.
Syosset is paid for mainly by local school property taxes. The board proposes a budget each spring, and voters approve it on the third Tuesday in May along with board seats. The 2026-27 budget is $306,874,324 and voters approved it 1,914 to 909 on May 19, 2026. State aid covers only about 13% of the budget, so the local tax levy fills the rest after reserves and other income.
The 2026-27 tax levy rose 2.19%, just under the 2.20% state cap; the district says it has stayed at or under the cap for 14 years. The total budget rose 3.74% because some costs (like bond payments) sit outside the cap.
State aid is about 13% of the budget and was projected up about $3.5 million for 2026-27; Foundation Aid is roughly two thirds of that aid. Building aid, which repays part of construction costs (about 38% for Syosset), is rising as bond projects finish.
Reserve balances were about $36 million in June 2025. The 2026-27 budget plans to use about $9.4 million of reserves plus $2.9 million of fund balance, mostly to cover retirement costs, which keeps the tax increase smaller.
Voters elect nine trustees to three-year terms; Lisa A. Coscia is president and Susan Falkove vice president for 2026-27, and a student serves as a non-voting member. The board votes on the budget, policies, contracts and construction bids at monthly meetings; a citizens' finance committee advises. If a budget is defeated twice, the district must use a contingency budget with no levy increase (about $5.1 million in cuts this year).
The cost pressures are real but ordinary for New York districts: health insurance rose about 10% and insurance premiums and inflation outpaced the 2% cap growth. The district reports its audits as clean; none of this suggests financial trouble.
Up 3.74% from 2025-26; split roughly 77% programs, 13% capital, 10% administration.
State tax cap was 2.20% after a lower-than-expected bond interest rate (net 2.40%).
State report card count. Elementary enrollment is near its projected peak; middle and high school enrollment is expected to grow as those students age.
State financial transparency figure for all funding sources (6,967 pupils). Statewide the same measure was $30,472.
Up $403,115 for the year; total fund balance was about $65.3 million (down 1.19%).
About $36 million, per the Apr. 20, 2026 budget presentation.
Proposition 1 ($110.59 million) plus Proposition 2 ($33.22 million). The sum is a calculation; each proposition is on the bond page.
639 students (about 15% of secondary students); 553 of 2,531 high school students (21.85%).
The auditor said the opinion is the highest level of assurance and reported no disagreements with management (from the Oct. 13, 2026 meeting recording captions).
Voters approved two bond propositions in Oct. 2024 for repairs, security, gym air conditioning, classroom and gym additions and a new High School gym and library. Several summer 2026 projects are done or nearly done; the new High School gym and H.B. Thompson vestibule move to 2027, and elementary classroom additions await State approval.
Voter-approved bonds (about $143.8 million) offset by roughly 38% State building aid, plus $4 million of capital reserves; routine capital work is in the annual budget
Estimated tax effect when approved: about $211 (Prop. 1) and $76 (Prop. 2) a year per $10,000 of school taxes paid.
The vacant 100-year-old Woodbury School could become a Syosset Public Library branch. A study estimates about $18.5 million to renovate or $3.5 million to demolish and restore the site.
Proposed: about $3.5 million of district capital reserve plus a library bond of about $15.6 million (estimates)
Estimated library tax effect about $120 more a year for a median-value home.
A utility transmission project would trench 138,000- and 345,000-volt cables under roads including Robbins Lane and South Woods Road. The district worries about school-day traffic, emergency access and safety.
Not a district project; no district funding is involved
The district is a party in the State review.
New state laws let districts offer larger exemptions. The board is gathering county data and plans a public hearing before voting.
No cost to the district budget; exemptions shift taxes to other property owners
Current exemptions: 121 senior households, 62 disabled veterans, 60 volunteer firefighters/EMS.
Every student gets an ID badge used for classroom and bus attendance, library and food service, and as an emergency locator.
Not stated in the collected documents
Syosset Central School District
The board's 2026-27 meeting schedule lists the district election on Tuesday, May 18, 2027, when voters choose trustees (three-year terms starting July 1) and vote on the 2027-28 school budget. Which seats are up and the candidates are not yet published.
Official source · verified Oct 20, 2026
Syosset Central School District
Voters filled three seats for terms July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2029. Susan Falkove (re-elected, 2,041), Inna Choi (1,848) and Rahul K. Nabe (1,588) won; Lisa Li (766), Brian Tvedt (610) and Corey Witt (500) were not elected.
Official source · verified Oct 20, 2026
Syosset Central School District · $306,874,324
Voters approved the $306,874,324 school budget (3.74% budget-to-budget increase, 2.19% tax levy increase) 1,914 to 909.
Official source · verified Oct 20, 2026
Syosset Central School District · $110,590,000
Approved 1,175 to 883. Funds identified architectural repairs, classroom additions, High School gym space and library, security, gym air conditioning and other projects; estimated cost about $211 a year per $10,000 of school taxes paid.
Official source · verified Oct 20, 2026
Syosset Central School District · $33,220,000
Approved 1,073 to 969. Funds elementary gym additions (Walt Whitman, Berry Hill, Robbins Lane, Baylis) and turf upgrades; estimated additional cost about $76 a year per $10,000 of school taxes paid.
Official source · verified Oct 20, 2026
Syosset Central School District · $15,600,000
The district and the Syosset Public Library are studying converting the vacant Woodbury School into a library satellite (about $19.1 million; a library bond of about $15.6 million was discussed at the Sept. 29, 2026 information session). The school board and library board would each need to pass resolutions and voters would decide at least two propositions. No vote date has been set and these figures are estimates.
Official source · verified Oct 20, 2026
Built from the district's board agendas, adopted minutes and attachments (Diligent Community portal), auto-generated captions of board meeting recordings on the district's YouTube channel, and the district website's budget, audit, policy and facilities pages, covering Nov. 2025 to Oct. 2026. Figures marked verified come from a district document; calculations and outside comparisons are marked context.
We read every agenda, packet, recording, and set of minutes, and write up the decisions that affect families — each one linked to the document it came from.
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