North Fork School Budgets All Pass

NORTH FORK, NY — Voters have spoken and passed all North Fork school budgets with open arms.

In Southold, voters weighed in on a proposed budget for the 2018 to 2019 school year is $28,981,000, or a 1.62 percent tax levy increase and gave it the green light, 436 to 114.

With three candidates vying for two open Board of Education seats in Southold, incumbents Paulette Ofrias and John Crean won, with Ofrias receiving 390 votes, and Crean, 335. Opponent Amy Bennett garnered 295 votes.

The Southold Free Library budget also passed, 448 to 104.

Superintendent David Gamberg pointed out the budget seeks to preserve programs and services, and allows for the hiring of a new security guard.

Despite changes in state aid, the budget remains under the allowable levy, Gamberg said. Reflecting on his tenth year, Gamberg said a hallmark of the Southold district is keeping "the budget low and consistent," as well as being "fiscally prudent" while still maintaining and preserving programs. The district, he added, is "well into the capital project," with expectations that it should be complete within a month, in time to get started on the elementary school, and the next phase, which includes improvements to the parking lot, lighting, and security, Gamberg said.

Gamberg thanked the board of eduction, who "take great pains to make sure they get all the information they need to make sound decisions. And I've very grateful to the taxpayers who have been so supportive over the years."

MATTITUCK-CUTCHOGUE

Voters chose to approve the district's $40,765,315 million proposed budget, which represents a tax levy increase of 0.15 percent, by a wide margin of 415 to 128.

In the Board of Education race, incumbent Doug Cooper received 442 votes and Barbara Wheaton, 462, with Jeffrey Connelly receiving 406.

Voters also weighed in on a proposition to establish a capital reserve fund, essentially a savings account, which is funded over time and typically used to pay for repairs, renovations and improvements — and votes "yes," 394 to 139.

The capital reserve fund can be funded up to $6 million over a term of 10 years. If approved, the capital reserve fund will be originally funded for $3 million, with $2.5 million from the Employees Retirement Reserve and $500,000 from the Unemployment Reserve. In addition, the capital reserve fund may be funded annually in an amount not to exceed $750,000 from monies remaining in the general fund and/or other reserves.

According to Superintendent Dr. Anne Smith, highlights of the budget include investment in new infrastructure for communication, safety and security, including a possible fourth security personnel, additional technology, and a new phone system for better access to emergency response and collaboration.

"We are continuing to reduce staffing through attrition and reductions in response to the declining enrollment," she said. "At the same time we are enhancing after school clubs, mental health and wellness programs, foreign language at the elementary school and the agriculture and TV production academic programs."

The proposed capital reserve, Smith added, provides the district with an opportunity to allocate other reserve funds with voter approval to help off set costs for renovations and capital projects as needed in the future — helping "to stabilize the tax rate and budget changes while maintaining a safe and secure facility."

OYSTERPONDS

Voters chose to pass the proposed 2018 to 2019 budget of $5.8 million, which represents a 1.58 percent increase, by a vote of 103 to 18.

With BOE incumbents Philip Mastrangelo and Linda Sledjeski Goldsmith running for two open seats, they received 95 and 87 votes, respectively. There was one write-in vote for Donna Medina and one write-in vote for Jeffrey Demarest.

GREENPORT

The proposed 2018 to 2019 Greenport Union Free School District budget of $19,038,000, which represents a tax levy of 4.62 percent, piercing the cap, passed 243 to 133, according to unofficial results posted by the district.

Three candidates faced off for two board of education seats and winning the race for a three year term were incumbents Babette Cornine, with 229 votes and Daniel Creedon, with 221; they faced off against newcomer Sonia Spar.

The budget, as well as the Southold school district's, seeks to preserve programs and services, including adding a security guard and a comprehensive Pre-K program and secondary school program.

Sharing services with the Southold school district, said Superintendent David Gamberg in a budget message, has saved Greenport and Southold taxpayers almost $1 million.

"While the Greenport budget pierces the tax cap, it is not the highest tax levy increase," Gamberg told Patch; he added that there are other districts with tax levies of more than 13 percent.

"There are 124 districts on Long Island and the tax cap started at the same time for all of them several years ago. They were not all at the same starting point in terms of resources, staffing, reserves, etc.," he said.

Looking back 15 to 20 years ago, some districts had relatively high increases, each year, over a period of time from five to 15 years, Gamberg said, adding that in Greenport, pre-tax cap, the budgets reflected a 0 percent increase and were sometimes negative, he said.

Greenport's budget, he added, remains "a relatively low amount" compared to other districts islandwide. "Finally, enrollment continues to increase in Greenport and is falling in other districts," he said.

In his budget message, Gamberg wrote, "Greenport residents have a history of supporting the education of its students, something that makes me proud to serve this community."

In 2016, he added, residents were asked to pierce the tax cap with a tax levy increase of 8.52 percent. "And you did," he said.

Kim Swann, president of the Greenport PTO, explained why piercing the cap is necessary. "Two years ago, we asked the taxpayers to pay almost nine percent more and now we're asking for another four percent — or we risk losing staff and programs such as the Pre-K program, driver's ed and several sports teams."

Swann added, "We have slowly been trying to rebuild our school and taking cuts would be a step backward. I am fully aware that we cannot ask the taxpayers to support piercing the cap year after year and I will pressure the Board of Education and the administration to come up with a long-term plan to put us in a better financial position, but for the immediate future, this is what we need to do for our students. They deserve a quality education in a safe and healthy environment
Passing this budget points us in the right direction."

Patch file photos.