Port Washington Public Schools Budget Vote 2020: New Deadline

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — Procrastinators in Port Washington got some welcome news over the weekend — the deadline has been extended to send in absentee ballots for the proposed 2020-21 public school district budget and Board of Education election.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday signed legislation extending the deadline for school districts to receive budget ballots. To be counted, school budget ballots must be dropped off at the Port Washington Union Free School District's administration offices on Campus Drive, by 5 p.m. Tuesday. Mail-in ballots must be received by June 16.

Drop-off hours:

Monday-Tuesday: 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our world, and while we are making great progress and the numbers keep going down, no New Yorker should have to choose between their health and their right to vote," Cuomo said in a statement. "Extending the deadline to submit absentee ballots builds on our previous Executive Orders to make it easier for New Yorkers to vote absentee in the upcoming primary election and it will help to increase voter participation as we continue to fight this virus."

The latest budget proposal does not take into consideration the district's pre-pandemic plan of adding several staffers and replacing the roof at South Salem Elementary School, as well as sections at John Philip Sousa Elementary School and Paul D. Schreiber High School. The draft budget includes cuts to contractual codes at all seven schools. The complete roof replacement at South Salem will now be partially replaced and nine permanent substitutes will not be brought back. Moreover, track resurfacing was removed from the budget, as was ongoing asbestos planning and transportation for field trips, among other cuts.

The proposed budget calls for:

• Budget dollar increase: $2.7 million
• Budget percent increase: 1.66 percent
• Levy dollar increase: $2.8 million (40 percent below the tax cap)
• Levy percent increase: 1.99 percent
• Impact on average home: $255

The levy is the amount of the budget paid for by taxpayers. It is not the total cost of the budget. The district applies all state aid and other sources of revenue and the balance becomes the tax levy.

The Board of Education decides which option to propose to the community June 9. A simple majority vote is needed to pass the budget, meaning 50 percent plus one vote in favor would be needed.

Cuomo has warned that the economic effect of the shutdown imposed to curb the outbreak could mean much less money available for state education aid. The state will be assessing and adjusting its budget several times in the course of 2020. Cuomo's last estimate was that state aid would be 20 percent lower than already promised.

Click here to see more details on the Port Washington Union Free School District proposed budget.