Greenport School Budget Expected Under Tax Cap, No Program Cuts

It's good news for the Greenport Union Free School district, with the 2013-2014 school budget expected to come in under the New York State mandated 2 percent tax levy cap -- without cuts to programs -- according to School Superintendent Mike Comanda.

A budget workshop to be held at Greenport Schools Thursday night has been rescheduled to April 3 at 5 p.m. in the Greenport High School auditorium.

A third budget will be held April 10, if needed, before the regularly scheduled board meeting.

Comanda said currently, the district is "on par" to come through under New York State's two percent tax cap levy.

"We are able to maintain all current levels of programs," Comanda said.

As it stands, the district is expected to see a 3.6 percent budget-to-budget increase over last year, the superintendent added. "We're hoping to get that number down a little more," he said, with information expected from Albany over the weekend. "When we get those numbers, we'll adjust from there."

Last year, Comanda said, the district exceeded the 2 percent tax levy cap; the district needed 60 percent of voters to approve the measure. "And they did," he said, making the Greenport district one of 19 in the state where that happened.

The main reason why the district is able to stay under the cap this time around, Comanda said, is that last year, "our teachers took a true, hard salary freeze that allowed me to prepare for this upcoming budget. It was one of the biggest single factors."

This year, Comanda said, "We really wanted to come in under the government's allowable tax cap levy. We wanted to say 'thank you -- when we needed you, you helped us. Now we need to give you something back. We needed to come in with some good numbers."

Of the 2013-2014 budget, he said, "I never say never, but I'm think our budget's in a good place right now."

What do you think about the proposed budget for the Greenport Union Free School District? And what would you say to the teachers who agreed to a true, hard salary freeze? Tell us in the comments section.