4 East End School Districts Ask Voters To Pierce Tax Caps

EAST END, NY — As voters head to the polls Tuesday, parents in four school districts await to hear whether residents will decide to green light proposed budgets that will pierce New York State's tax cap.

Those four districts, some of the smaller on Long Island, include the New Suffolk Common School, Wainscott Common School, Montauk Public School and Springs School. The Babylon District is also seeking to pierce the cap.

In a budget that pierces the cap, a 60 percent supermajority is necessary for the budget to pass.

If residents vote down the budgets, the school board can present the same, or a revised budget, in a new vote. Or, they can opt to adopt a contingency budget but the tax levy cannot be higher than it was during the past year. Should voters nix the proposed budget a second time, the adopted budget has to have the same tax levy as the last year.

For the New Suffolk Common School, the district's 2023 to 2024 budget of $1,188,645 represents an increase of 8.21 percent. Longtime BOE member and president Tony Dill is retiring and Brooke Dailey is running unopposed.

At the Wainscott Common School, where there are only 28 students in the school house and 120 in total, administrators called it an "uncommon year."

The proposed budget of $6,161,331 represents an increase of 49.27 percent and a tax levy increase of 66.11 percent.

"Since the 2022 to 2023 budget was approved, 20 new tuition students moved into the district. This is a 22 percent increase, which resulted in increased costs of nearly $1 million," the district said on its website. "To put this increase into perspective, if a district of 1500 students had a 22 percent increase in their student population that would mean 330 new students. Legally and morally, the school district must provide an education for K to 12 students who are residents of the
district. 92, or 76 percent of these students (4-12) attend other schools. 76 percent of the proposed 2023 to 2024 budget is for tuition, special education services and transportation for these
92 students. The cost for these programs are referred to as ordinary contingent expenses. This is not discretionary spending."

Voters will weigh in on Proposition 3, which will increase the annual budget of the school district for the fiscal year 2022 to 23 by an amount not to exceed $1 million in order to provide for unforeseen, ordinary contingent expenses that arose after the 2022 to 23 budget was adopted; the tax levy would be impacted.

Two BOE candidates are vying for one seat, including incumbent Dave Eagan and Melanie Hayward.

At the Montauk Public School, the proposed $22,733,958 budget represents an 8.10 percent increase. According to the district's budget message, that requires a tax levy increase of $20,187,160, which exceeds the statutory tax levy increase limit of $17,952,854 and must be approved by 60 percent of voters.

The Springs School's budget of $35,406,133 represents an increase of 7.65 percent; the proposed tax levy increase of 5.14 percent would mean piercing the cap by a 60 percent majority.

BOE candidates including incumbent Patrick Brabant and Katie Sarris are running unopposed.