Schools
3.0% Tax Levy Bump on Ballot in Tuckahoe
Dr. Daniel Crough is unopposed in bid for second term.
Tuckahoe Common School District voters will decide Tuesday on a $18.45 million budget, which constitutes a 4.52 percent increase in spending and a 3.00 percent bump in the tax levy.
The proposed tax levy increase is the highest allowable before the New York State-mandated tax cap would kick in. Exceeding the tax cap requires 60 percent voter approval, rather than a simple majority. While it is popularly known as a 2 percent cap, some uncontrollable expenses and growth factors allow for exceptions. Because the proposal adheres to the adjusted cap, only a simple majority of 50 percent plus one vote is required for the budget to pass.
If adopted, the budget will cut five teaching assistant positions and one special education teacher. The Outdoor Education Program and several after school programs are also reduced or eliminated.
Constituting a large part of the budget increase is the amount the district is spending on tuitioning its ninth- through 12-graders to Southampton High School and Westhampton Beach High School. Compared to tuition costs for 2012-13, the district has budgeted $366,856 more, for a new total of $1,516,456. Overall, high school tuition amounts to 29.18 percent of the budget.
The district states that it saved $624,000 by agreeing to exclusively send the current eighth-grade class to Southampton High School for ninth grade. Tuckahoe and Southampton school districts are also in the midst of a merger feasibility study, which is taking a look at how the two districts could become one and what the benefits and detriments would be.
If the budget fails at the polls twice, the district will be forced onto a contingency budget. According to the district’s budget brochure, the tax levy would stay flat under contingency at $15,972,266, which is $478,929 less than the proposed budget. Contingency rules under state law would dictate a reduction in administrative expenses, no equipment purchases, no field trips and no after-school clubs or intramural activities, according to the district.
In addition to the budget, there will be three propositions on the ballot.
Voters will be asked to approve contracts with the Southampton and Westhampton Beach school districts for the 2013-14 school year, for educating Tuckahoe School District’s ninth- through 12th-grade students.
Further, voters are asked to approve $55,473 in spending on top of the budget for the district’s participation in the Southampton Youth Association and $7,868 for participation with the Parrish Art Museum.
School Board Chairman Dr. Daniel Crough is running unopposed for re-election.
The three-member board also consists of Harald Steudte and Robert Grisnik. Terms are three years long, so one member comes up for election each year.
Dr. Crough, an emergency physician at Southampton Hospital, is seeking his second term.
According to his bio on the district website, he and his wife, Allyson, have two children, Noelle, who graduated from Tuckahoe and now attends Southampton High School, and Spencer, who attends Tuckahoe.
The budget vote and School Board election are scheduled May 21 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the school library.
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