Voters Pass Mattituck-Cutchogue School District's 2023 To 2024 Budget

MATTITUCK, NY — The voters have spoken: The Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School District's proposed 2023 to 2024 budget of 44,016,344 — including a budget-to-budget increase of $1,187,047 and a proposed tax levy increase of 2.74 percent, below the tax levy cap — passed by an overwhelming margin of 550 to 164.

Three candidates, including incumbent Patricia Arsianian and challengers Lauren Ocker and Lorraine Warren, were vying for two open BOE seats. The winners were Arsianian with 508 votes, followed by Warren with 432. Ocker received 311 votes.

"Current economic times have presented challenges that have required a responsible, but difficult, budget process to take us into the 2023 to 2024 school year," the BOE said in the budget newsletter. "Due to declining enrollment, our obstacles are many, but with the thoughtful, fiscally forward-looking superintendent and administration, we have established a budget that continues to enhance our students’ learning opportunities while being ever mindful of the taxpayers’ struggles in our community.

"Within this budget, optimal class sizes, new electives and Advanced Placement classes, as well as a new collaboration with BOCES to provide a carpentry program for the North Fork schools, are all needed to prepare for the new STEM wing we anxiously await. All of this and so many of the traditions our district holds dear are supported in this budget. As a district, we continue to provide rigor and choice in our curriculum, robust extracurricular activities, multiple athletic opportunities and an appreciation for the arts. Recent retirements, dual certifications and a need for fewer sections has offered us a chance to reduce staffing while maintaining an exceptional educational standard."

A proposition on the ballot to disburse $4.4 million from the capital reserve also passed by a wide margin of 622 to 97. Those funds have already been approved by the community, the Mattituck-Cutchogue BOE said.

"The approval will have no effect on the tax levy, but will allow the roofs in both Mattituck Junior-Senior High School and Cutchogue East Elementary to receive much-needed repairs that will last for many years to come," the BOE said.