By JEFF MORRIS
Following a presentation on Feb. 13 about the non-instructional portions of the proposed 2025-26 budget, the board of education was presented with the instructional portions at its Feb. 27 meeting.
One item included in the consent agenda approved at that meeting, though not mentioned, was a memorandum of agreement with the Katonah-Lewisboro District Teachers Association, extending the agreement for the period July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2029. The agreement was ratified by KLDTA membership Feb. 19.
Though no details of the agreement were made public, aspects of it were referenced throughout the budget presentation as contractual obligations related to salary steps and class sizes.
Presentation duties were shared among Superintendent Raymond Blanch, Assistant Superintendent for Business Lisa Herlihy, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Julia Drake, and building principals.
Class sizes uncertain
Kindergarten enrollment, always an unpredictable factor, is again uncertain. In October 2024, there were 190 kindergarten students districtwide; at this point, the projected enrollment for September is 208. That would result in a projected average class size of 19, versus 17.2 last year. The staff level in kindergarten would remain at 11. Kindergarten enrollment includes students who will be in the special class program.
That class size would be just within the goal for grades K-2, which is 20; the contractually obligated maximum is 25. The other contractual class size parameters are a goal of 25 and a maximum of 28 in grade three; and a goal of 25 and a maximum of 30 for both grades 4-6 and 7-12.
Enrollment at Increase Miller Elementary is expected to require an additional fifth grade section, based on a projection that includes the number of students moving up from fourth grade. The smallest grade at IMES is first, with a total of 70 projected students, resulting in an average first grade class size of 17.5. The largest number of students is projected as 98 in fourth grade, resulting in an average class size of 24.5.
At Katonah Elementary, a section of third grade is being added, although the total number of students projected for the fall in that grade is 76, versus the 80 who were in second grade. That is still the largest grade at KES, though the highest average class size will be 19.3 in second grade.
At Meadow Pond Elementary, no additional sections are planned. The grade with the most students is fifth, with 62 projected, and an average class size of 20.6.
Total staff members projected for each elementary school are 24 at IMES, 21 at KES, and 22 at MPES.
Overall, the elementary budget is proposed to increase by $776,659, from $16,726,444 to $17,503,103.
Of that increase, $746,822 is attributable to salaries, with a $49,444 increase in textbooks. There are actually reductions from the previous year of $8,000 for equipment and $16,902 for supplies. The elementary salary line has reflected incremental step increases, going from $15,349,362 in 2023-24 to $15,937,124 in 2024-25, and $16,683,946 in 2025-26.
Outlook for middle school
The number of sections by grade at John Jay Middle School is projected to increase from 200 to 205 in grade six, decrease from 219 to 200 in grade seven, and increase from 211 to 220 in grade eight. Overall enrollment remains flat, going from 630 students to 629.
The middle school budget will increase by $301,727, with $298,545 of that attributed to salaries. There will be a decrease of $9,707 needed for supplies.
Total students at John Jay High School are expected to drop from 912 to 874. There are decreases at every grade level except 10th grade, going from 211 to 240.
The JJHS budget will increase by $64,211, going from $14,815,831 to $14,879,943. While $13,607,890 of that is salaries, that line has an increase of only $11,590. The largest increase is in textbooks, going from $104,085 to $196,333 — a $92,248 jump. Herlihy said that was attributable to new “World Language” textbooks. She said world language classes are now using workbooks that need to be replaced each year. Concurrently, there are decreases of $28,089 for equipment and $22,412 for supplies.
The special services budget is decreasing by $104,864, while the number of full-time positions remains the same. Though salaries are increasing $224,371, from $9,922,258 to $10,146,629, contractual costs are decreasing by $68,000, and BOCES tuition costs are dropping $374,900, while other tuition costs are increasing $112,342.
“That’s something that’s just going to fluctuate depending on the needs of the students, where they’re placed,” said Herlihy. “We’ve also started to utilize some of our grant funding.”
The budget for athletics and health services totals $2,398,685, a $67,513 increase. Salary increases comprise $51,985 of that, with a $15,349 increase in contractual expenses.
Slight staffing reduction
Overall, proposed staffing changes are tentatively a reduction of 3.0 to 5.0 full-time employees. That includes the addition of two FTEs at KES and IMES, and one FTE at JJMS. Assistant superintendent for human resources, Neill Alleva, said the district typically recommends four contingency positions, but this year they are going down to three. He said there are an estimated 5.0 to 7.0 FTE reductions that have to do with attrition and staff leaving the system, “whether it is resignations or retirements.” He emphasized those are non-classroom teacher reductions.
“As we talked about at the last board meeting, we’ve identified what our current revenue stream is, and then the expenditures that need to match with that,” said Blanch, referring back to a close to $850,000 unanticipated drop in revenues from the state. He said they are keeping the reductions as far away from the classroom as possible, and will continue to monitor changes in enrollment and retirements.
A complete budget presentation is scheduled for Thursday, March 13.