Farmingdale's 2019-20 School Budget: What You Need To Know

FARMINGDALE, NY--Farmingdale residents will vote on whether or not to pass the 2019-20 school budget on Tuesday, May 21. Here's what you should know before then.

The Farmingdale School District's proposed spending plan for the 2019-20 school year is $171,083,800. That's a $5.376m, or 3.24 percent, increase from the current budget.

To fund the increase, the district proposes a tax levy of $127,208,545, up $3.385m or 2.73 percent from the current year's.

Salaries will see a $4.368m increase. However, employee benefits will be decreased by $2.465m. Other significant increases include contract services by $1.349m, transportation by $767,080, materials and supplies by $420,875, equipment by $130,800, BOCES by $401,974 and capital projects by $650,000. The other major decreases come via tuitions ($155,000) and textbooks ($120,000).

State Aid will be increased to $31,804,958, a slight $156,536 increase.

Voters will also vote for an additional proposition on the 2019-20 ballot. The proposition is whether the Farmingdale Youth Council Appropriation for the upcoming fiscal year will be approved or not, as well as the accompanying tax levy.

Also on the ballot will be the election of members of the board of education. The top two finishers will win election to a three-year term running from July 1 to June 30, 2022. Michael Goldberg and Suzanne D'Amico, both incumbent trustees, are the only two running. Voters can opt for a write-in candidate for each vacancy.

Residents can vote for the budget, proposition and trustees on Tuesday, May 21 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Weldon E. Howitt Middle School west gymnasium.