Roslyn School Superintendent Allison Brown provided an updated budget of $122,310,693 for the 2022-2023 fiscal year Thursday night, a 3.07% increase from the current year. 

During the Feb. 3 Roslyn Board of Education meeting, the initial proposal was a 3.21% increase from the current year. 

The new proposal calls for a 2.9% increase in the tax levy, which the district said fell below the state tax cap of 3.7% and that they do not plan to even come near it when finalizations come.

Further changes to the proposal if need be will be announced at additional meetings before a final budget vote is held on May 17. If approved, the budget will take effect July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year. 

Brown previously said in February the proposal tried to adjust to difficulties without impacting educational programs.

“In this budget, we are looking for ways to blossom and to grow,” she said. Brown said as of July 1, 2021, the district saw an increase of 235 new students. 

In regards to the changing tax levy, Brown said changes come from a mixture of what the district does and doesn’t know, which includes retirements for current staff while also making new hires to replace them and account for the influx of enrollment.

In February, the district said the budget reflects needs for three full-time teachers, two in Harbor Hill School and one in East Hills School, among other necessary changes in the district including teacher assistants and monitors. 

“We have large fourth-grade classes right now, we’re not waiting,” Brown said last month. “We need to split those grades going into fifth grade.” 

The proposal also includes a transfer of $1,825,000 to the capital fund to complete projects such as infrastructure upgrades throughout the district.

For Roslyn’s elementary schools, curriculum upgrades are set for literacy, STEM, social studies and social, emotional and mental wellness.

In Roslyn Middle School, the addition of an environmental club and coding club are included in the proposal along with buddy programs for students transitioning to different schools within the district as they get older, among other things.

Also being added is a career day with the help of community members. “This is kind of a blast from the past,” said Michael Goldspiel, assistant superintendent for secondary education, at the last meeting. “We’re talking about experiential learning and what’s better than a career day, or career fair, with some of our successful community members. This is something we really want to provide to our middle school students.” 

Highlights for Roslyn High School involve building a financial markets and market concepts lab which Goldspiel said will help graduates.

“It’s going to give our Roslyn students that added edge when they get out of here and give them extended knowledge on fundamental and technical analysis,” he said.

Additions will be made in the form of courses for pre-med, introduction to biotechnology, an ethics class studying COVID-19 and advanced robotics, among others. 

The next meeting of Roslyn’s Board of Education will be held on Thursday, March 24.