Sachem school district
VOTING
6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the district’s 10 elementary schools: Cayuga, Chippewa, Grundy, Hiawatha, Lynwood, Merrimac, Nokomis, Tamarac, Waverly and Wenonah. Polling locations fall within elementary school attendance zones.
THE BUDGET
The district proposes a $322,887,319 budget for 2018-19, a 2.77 percent increase from the current $314,191,536. The tax levy would rise by 5.73 percent, from $177,007,200 to $187,157,699.
This increase is equal to the district’s 5.73 percent tax-cap limit, so a simple majority vote will be required to approve the budget.
School taxes on the average single-family home would be $5,902.92 in Brookhaven, $6,432.00 in Islip and $6.726.09 in Smithtown. That would be up from $5,582.97 in Brookhaven, $6,084 in Islip and $6,361.43 in Smithtown under the current budget.
The proposed budget includes a 1.35 percent increase in teacher salaries and a step increase of 0.5 percent. It would add 13 security guards — one at each of the elementary schools and three middle schools. The district also plans to hire additional staff to introduce world language to 7th graders.
District website:
www.sachem.edu
THE CANDIDATES
Incumbents Laura Slattery and William Coggin plus new candidate Meredith Volpe are running unopposed for three at-large seats. Terms are three years.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story gave incorrect figures for the amount of school taxes on the average single-family home in Brookhaven, Islip and Smithtown under the district’s current budget.
Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.
