Below is a clear, factual profile of Nassau BOCES (the Board of Cooperative Educational Services of Nassau County)—its mission, legal status, budget scale, how it is financed, who governs it, and what the public can (and cannot yet) see from its budget materials.
Mission and Purpose
Nassau BOCES states its mission plainly: to partner with school districts and communities to provide premier educational and support services that ensure equity, opportunities, and access for all. In practice, it operates as a regional public-education service organization that lets multiple districts share services—from special-education placements and career & technical programs to curriculum/technology consulting, transportation coordination, health and safety services, HR/finance systems, and more.
Legal Status: Public Entity, Not a Charity
BOCES are public education entities created under New York State law to deliver shared services. Nassau BOCES is formally the Board of Cooperative Educational Services of Nassau County, governed by a locally elected BOCES board, led by a district superintendent/CEO, and organized into program departments.
It is not a nonprofit corporation in the philanthropic sense and it has no taxing authority. Nassau BOCES’ budget materials make clear that it relies on district payments (for services purchased) and state aid mechanisms tied to those services.
Bottom line: Nassau BOCES is not “in business to make a profit,” but it does operate a very large, self-funded enterprise that sets service prices, collects district payments, earns interest, and can carry and deploy surpluses.
How Nassau BOCES Is Funded
1) Program and Service Fees (District Purchases)
Each district chooses which BOCES services to buy (e.g., special education, instructional technology, CTE). Tuition/fees are set so the program is self-sustaining and each district pays its prorated share. After year-end audit, BOCES Aid is paid back to districts (not to BOCES) based on approved service costs. Because BOCES has no taxing power, a large share of its revenue is simply district purchases.
2) Administrative Charges (RWADA-Billed)
Every district also pays a mandatory Administrative Charge based on RWADA—Resident Weighted Average Daily Attendance. Nassau BOCES shows the Administrative Charge is composed of:
- Administrative Operations
- Facilities Rental
- Capital Projects & Debt Service
These are billed to districts per RWADA regardless of how much a district uses BOCES programs.
3) Other Revenues (Interest, Reimbursements, Surpluses)
Administrative Operations pages typically list interest income and other reimbursements (e.g., E-Rate) that offset district charges. Capital Fund pages show transfers from prior-year agency surplus (for 2025–26, $17.0M) used to fund projects alongside an RWADA-billed portion. Together, those lines confirm BOCES earns interest and retains surpluses it can redeploy. It is a public service enterprise—not a loss-absorbing charity.
How Big Is the Operation?
Total proposed budget (2025–26): $532.8 million. Nassau BOCES’ general fund summary breaks down the scale:
- Special Education: $227.8M (+5.3%)
- Curriculum, Instruction & Technology: $188.4M
- Regional Schools & Instructional Programs (incl. CTE): $54.2M (+4.3%)
- Transportation Services: $20.1M (+8.2%)
- Administrative Operations: $27.9M (+2.7%)
(Administrative charges to districts total $34.7M when you include Administrative Operations, Facilities Rental, and Capital/Debt Service; the combined RWADA billing rate and district allocations are shown in the same section.)
Sites and footprint. Nassau BOCES operates programs across multiple facilities throughout the county (the budget book includes a site map).
Staff size. The budget book does not publish a single “total FTE” headcount for all programs; staffing is listed by budget. For example, Administrative Operations shows ~67.6 FTE (proposed), but that excludes the instructional and program staff across Special Education, CTE, Transportation, etc.
Governance and Budget Process
- Board of Cooperative Educational Services of Nassau County: The budget lists current board members (president, vice president, trustees).
- District Superintendent/CEO and cabinet lead the operation; departmental leaders run programs.
- Budget calendar: BOCES uses a Budget Review Committee with district representation, public workshops (January/February), candidate nominations, an Annual Meeting, and April local board votes on the Administrative Operations Budget and BOCES board elections.
- If a majority of local boards vote down the Administrative Operations budget, BOCES must adopt a contingency administrative budget not exceeding the prior year (retiree-health exceptions noted).
“Do They Make Money?”
There’s no “profit” line in the corporate sense—BOCES are designed as cost-recovery entities. But the budget documents show they are not operating at a loss:
- District purchases and Administrative Charges fully fund programs and central operations.
- BOCES earns interest on cash balances (listed under “Use of money and property” or similar).
- BOCES retains and deploys surpluses, including the $17.0M in 2025–26 moved into the Capital Fund alongside RWADA-billed capital/debt costs.
Put differently: it’s a public service enterprise with no taxing power and no shareholder profits, but it does accumulate and spend surplus and interest inside the organization—one reason robust, public line-item detail and program-by-program justification matter to taxpayers.
Follow the Money: What the Audited Financials Show
The FY 2024 independent audit makes three things clear:
- Large fund-basis surplus in 2024.
Governmental funds reported $567.35M of revenue vs. $533.05M of expenditures—an excess of $34.30M. Total governmental fund balance rose to $116.7M at year-end. - Significant investment income.
FY 2024 “Use of money and property” (interest/earnings) totaled ~$19M—real income that helps finance operations and reduce what districts might otherwise be billed. - Surplus is carried and redeployed—especially to Capital.
District account schedules show a “current year surplus” of ~$40.9M, and transfers of $17.8M to the Capital Fund, $3.0M to a Retirement Contribution Reserve, and $575k to a CTE Equipment Reserve—audited evidence that BOCES retains and allocates surplus.
From the 2025–26 budget book, Nassau BOCES again shows it will fund part of the Capital Fund with a $2.81M RWADA charge and a $17.0M transfer from 2023/24 surplus.
Translation: Even though BOCES has no taxing authority, it does build fund balance, earns interest, and moves prior-year surplus into capital and reserves. It’s a public service enterprise with real cash-flow and fund-balance dynamics—not a break-even charity.
Why the “negative net position” on the accrual statements doesn’t change that.
On government-wide (accrual) statements, BOCES shows a small decrease in net position because long-term liabilities—especially OPEB (retiree health)—are recognized under GASB rules. That accrual view does not negate the fund-basis fact that governmental funds ran a surplus and fund balance increased in 2024.
Net Position vs. Fund Balance (Why One Is Negative and One Shows Cash)
- Fund balance (near-term money you can spend):
At June 30, 2024, Nassau BOCES reported about $116.7M in total governmental fund balance. That’s the cash/investments and other spendable resources left after paying the year’s bills. It grew because revenues exceeded expenditures in FY 2024. - Government-wide net position (long-term picture):
When you add long-term liabilities—especially the retiree-health (OPEB) obligation—the accrual view shows total net position of about –$818.4M.- Net investment in capital assets: ~$146.6M
- Restricted: ~$105.9M
- Unrestricted net position: ~–$1.071B (this is where OPEB lives)
The negative number does not mean they ran out of cash; it reflects future benefits promised to retirees that must be recorded today under accounting rules.
Where the Money Came From (Why There’s ~$116.7M on Hand)
- District purchases: tuition/fees for special ed, CTE, tech/curriculum services.
- State/federal aid recognized in the funds.
- Investment income: roughly $19M of interest/earnings in FY 2024.
- Prior-year surpluses carried forward—some of which were then transferred (e.g., $17.8M to the Capital Fund, $3.0M to the Retirement Contribution Reserve, $575k to a CTE Equipment Reserve).
What It Means for Taxpayers
- Yes, BOCES holds significant spendable resources (fund balance) and earns interest each year.
- Yes, districts are effectively funding retiree benefits (through program rates and RWADA-billed Administrative Charges)—which is why the accrual statements show that very large unrestricted negative tied to OPEB.
- And yes, this is exactly why line-item transparency matters: if Administrative Charges and program rates include retiree-health costs and overhead, districts deserve to see the unit prices, overhead components, and competitive comparisons before paying the bill.
The Administrative Charge—and How Districts Pay
The 2025–26 plan shows Administrative Charges growing to $34.7M (about +2.6%), comprised of Administrative Operations, Facilities Rental, and Capital Projects & Debt Service—RWADA-billed to each district. Nassau BOCES also shows miscellaneous revenue (e.g., interest, E-Rate, reimbursements) used to reduce the net billable amount to districts. Nassau’s materials also include a statewide comparison indicating its per-pupil administrative charge ranks near the low end among the 37 BOCES statewide; whether that equals “good value” still requires what districts and residents rarely see—a line-by-line, unit-by-unit price and outcome comparison.
What’s Transparent—and What Isn’t
Transparent in the book
- Big-picture totals by department and program.
- The Administrative Charge components and RWADA allocations.
- The aid mechanism (BOCES has no taxing authority; districts pay for services; state aid is paid to districts after audit).
- Evidence of interest income and surplus transfers.
Missing or fragmented
- A single, total FTE headcount across all programs.
- Service-level detail a district needs to judge value: vendor of origin when BOCES is a pass-through (e.g., PowerSchool, data warehouse, library automation), unit counts, unit prices, and competitive comparisons to direct-to-vendor pricing.
- Program outcomes and utilization linked to the exact dollar amounts billed to a given district (e.g., Jericho).
Why This Profile Matters
At $532.8M, Nassau BOCES is one of the largest public-education operations on Long Island. It doesn’t levy taxes, but it bills districts, earns interest, and spends surpluses. It provides essential services—yet it’s a black box to most residents. Understanding its mission, public-entity status, funding model, and scale is a first step; the next is demanding line-item transparency and competitive context so districts and taxpayers can verify value.
For deeper reading, consult the 2025–26 budget book (mission, board, budget summary, Administrative Charge mechanics, shared-services aid explanation, capital fund tables, and district allocations) and the FY 2024 audited financial statements.
