Under state law, each public school district’s Board of Education must notify residents, before the May budget vote, of proposed expenditures for the coming year in three categories –– administrative, program and capital. Below are percentage breakdowns in each category, compiled by Newsday education researcher Michael R. Ebert, for Long Island’s 124 school districts for the 2018-19 school year, with district budget totals alongside their names.
Administrative includes salaries and benefits of superintendents, principals and other administrators, as well as business operations of the district and the school board. The Long Island average is 10 percent. Program includes funds spent on teaching, student programs and services, extracurricular activities and bus transportation, excluding vehicle purchases. The Long Island average is 77 percent. Capital encompasses money spent on buildings and other physical property and debt service. The Long Island average is 13 percent.
Click on a district name to view detailed tables comparing data with Islandwide statistics and showing annual figures since 2010-11 for administrative, program and capital costs as budgeted before spring elections. Tables for per-pupil spending, special education costs and enrollment are included. In coming days, districts must send residents the state-mandated “three-component” budget notices for the 2019-20 school year. This database was updated on April 25, 2019.
Enrollment figures provided by the New York State Education Department. Projected enrollment figures, the latest available, were used for the 2018-2019 school year.