Westbury Adopts 2022-2023 School Budget

The Westbury Union Free School District Board of Education has adopted the 2022-2023 school budget, which is highlighted by an estimated 2.43% tax rate reduction resulting in a $2 million decrease in the property tax levy. The proposed budget also includes $3 million for investment in academic programs and $2.5 million for facility upgrades. There are two propositions on the ballot: the proposed budget and the plan to address facility needs without raising taxes.

The proposed 2022-2023 school budget will support academic initiatives across the District. At Dryden Street School, funding will subsidize art and music programs bolstering the creative opportunities experienced by Westbury’s elementary scholars. At Westbury Middle School, Spanish and French will now be offered to scholars in sixth and seventh grade, expanding the language program to younger scholars, better preparing them for Honors and Advanced Placement programs at the high school level. At Westbury High School, electrical engineering certification and television production studio programs will be introduced. Throughout the District, research-based literacy programs will be enhanced to expand the writing curriculum. In mathematics, Westbury will introduce an evidence-based program for its elementary schools that is in line with the New York State benchmarks to increase proficiency and enhance problem solving skills.

While Westbury’s ability to shift to a remote learning platform and provide access for all scholars during the early stages of pandemic was successful, the fact is that COVID-19 did result in a shortfall in learning for some scholars. In response, Westbury is instituting the Saturday Academy. The Saturday Academy is designed to target additional instruction based on individual academic and social and emotional needs. The district's signature Saturday STEM Academy for elementary will remain in place for the 2022-23 school year. This program allows our youngest scholars to learn directly from existing scientists and professors in the field of STEM.

The Westbury School District will begin the application process to become an authorized International Baccalaureate (IB) District. The goal is to introduce the IB Diploma Programme to juniors and seniors, then expand to the lower grades in subsequent years. Moreover, the District is exploring the institution of a full-day early childhood program for its four-year olds.

“The very foundation of a World Class School District is its early childhood program,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Tahira DuPree Chase.

Proposition 2 addresses safety and infrastructure needs without impacting taxes. If approved, Proposition 2 will authorize the use of $7.8 million from the Capital Reserve Fund to subsidize improvements including the construction of new security vestibules at each school; roofing and heating replacements; upgrading of playgrounds, athletic fields, and portable classrooms; and the modernization of Westbury High School’s sixty-year-old kitchen.

“Westbury has passed the school budget ten years in a row,” said Board of Education President Robert Troiano. “Our community demands an exceptional educational program for its children in world-class facilities. That is what this proposed budget represents.”

Voting will take place on Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at Drexel Avenue School, Dryden Street School, Westbury Middle School and Park Avenue School from 6:00 AM – 9:00 PM. For more information on the proposed 2022-2023 budget, visit the District’s website at www.westburyschools.org, or visit bit.ly/3EBiBeT.

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