RVC Schools Facing $3.78M Budget Deficit For 26-27, District Officials Say

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY. — The Rockville Centre school district is facing a $3.78 million budget deficit for the 2026-27 fiscal year, district officials said at the Jan. 29 Board of Education work session. The lion’s share of the work session consisted of a presentation from Superintendent Matthew Gaven and Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Jacqueline Rehak, in which they explained some of the financial problems facing the district and how they can be addressed.

On the whole, district officials said projected expenses are outpacing projected revenue by $3,785,521.

There are a few reasons that gap exists, district officials said, but the basic formula is that the cost of running a school district in Rockville Centre — and across Long Island — has gone up, while the ways districts can raise money remain limited.

The cost increase, district officials said, is coming from a number of places. For starters, the district’s insurance costs are projected to go up by almost $2 million next year.

“That’s about 18 teachers,” the superintendent said.

As other districts renegotiate their transportation contracts for next year — which Rockville Centre doesn’t have to do, its contract is already signed for 2026-27 — those other districts are seeing increases in transportation costs of between 20 and 50 percent, Gaven said.

Finally, things like energy, supplies and renovation have gotten more expensive in recent years, the superintendent said.

“Over the last 5 years, supplies and construction costs have gone up around 30 percent,” Gaven said. “And I’m probably being conservative. On some projects it’s about 50 percent.”

As for the limitation on how much money the school can raise, that comes from multiple sources, as well. Chief among them is a state cap on tax levy increases that remains at 2 percent per-year, regardless of inflation. In 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, the tax cap was at 2 percent, while inflation was 4.7 percent, 8 percent, 4.12 percent and 2.95 percent per-year, respectively.

“Inflation over the last five years has been rather high, while the tax cap stays at 2 percent. There are years where inflation was 1 percent and our tax cap increase was 1 percent. There were years where the inflation was 8 percent and our tax cap was 2 percent,” Rehak said. “It’s good for the tax payer…but it also forces us to figure out how to operate within that.”

While the tax cap remains the primary limiting factor on the district’s revenue, it’s not the only limiting factor. Over the past 10 years, administrators said, the average price paid for a home in Rockville Centre jumped from $550,000 to $930,000. In the same timespan, the district’s enrollment shrunk by about 200 students.

The decrease in enrollment coupled with the increase in home values, district officials said, limits the amount of state aid Rockville Centre schools can receive.

A third revenue-limiting factor comes in the annual state budget. The governor’s budget last year included a 2 percent minimum increase in state foundation aid, administrators said, a figure that helped school districts like Rockville Centre keep pace with inflation. This year’s budget, the administrators said, only includes a 1 percent minimum increase in state foundation aid per district.

“With the 2 percent tax cap, a 1 percent foundation increase from the state is a problem,” school board member Donna Downing said.

“We’re not looking to cut programs from our most vulnerable or from any of our students, but we do have to balance this budget,” Downing added. “We’ve got from January until April to figure out how to close this…everything is on the table, and we’ve got to look at a lot of different scenarios.”

Gaven and Rehak both said that the district had seen these budget challenges coming, and attempted to limit their severity in several ways. Since 2021-22, the district has reduced its personnel count from 398 teachers to 390, and from 138 teaching assistants to 80. The number of in-class aides, the superintendent said, has actually increased, but the increase in in-class aids coupled with the decrease in teaching assistants decreases overall operating costs for the district.

Similarly, the number of transportation and security staff has gone up, but that number is inflated because there are more part-time staff members who don’t receive benefits. Finally, the number of full-time substitute teachers has reduced from 44 to 28.

Last year, Gaven said, a $3.5 million budget gap existed, which the district closed by cutting overtime, offering retirement incentives, reducing eight more teaching assistant positions as well as a custodial and clerical position. Finally, in December, the district froze spending.

“We took these steps in advance and we are still tight,” the superintendent said. “This is not something that came out of nowhere. This is something that built up over time, and now is that time. And if you look at some of the challenges other districts around us are facing, they are facing similar challenges...With the way we’re allowed to raise revenue, with the way we’re structured, we have significant structural costs.”

After tax levy calculations, including prior year payment in lieu of tax (PILOT) agreements, exemptions, debt service, building aid and growth factors, the district’s projected tax levy for the coming year is $111,911,163, up from $109,240,000 in the 2025-26 year. It’s a 2.45 percent jump, district officials said.

Gaven told the board that he would be meeting with State Assemblymember Judy Griffith Friday to discuss the financial challenges facing Rockville Centre schools. Gaven said Griffith has been “a very good advocate for” the Rockville Centre school district, and encouraged parents to contact their elected representatives to advocate for changes to state aid formulae. Those advocacy efforts, Gaven said, could be effective this year as local and state representatives run for reelection.

The full presentation from district officials can be viewed on the district's Youtube page.

The next scheduled budget presentation will take place on Feb. 25, district officials said, in which administrators will discuss the revenue, capital and administration portions of the budget. A subsequent budget presentation on Mar. 12 will cover instruction and special education, while a Mar. 26 presentation will cover athletics and arts. A preliminary budget hearing is scheduled for Apr. 16, while a budget hearing is scheduled for May 7.

While the school district faces a deficit, it also received some positive financial news Thursday night: A $25,000 donation had been made by the Rockville Centre Ed Foundation, to fund new unit support in the science research program, new arts programming in the middle school, the purchase of new percussion instruments for the high school, and new programs at the public library.