Wantagh, Three Village school districts will try to pierce tax caps in revotes
Wantagh schools board president Adam Fisher, left, and the board at Tuesday's session. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
The Wantagh and Three Village school districts will again try to pierce state tax-cap restrictions when they resubmit budgets to voters on June 15.
The Wantagh district is sharply lowering its proposed spending and taxation for the revote, but is still seeking to override a strict state tax cap.
Voters in the Three Village district will consider the same budget they rejected May 18, according to a statement posted on the district website.
Wantagh
Late Tuesday, Wantagh's school board unanimously agreed to submit to voters a revamped $82.76 million budget that would raise spending 1.88% and taxes 1.96%. The district's original $83.5 million budget, rejected May 18, would have boosted spending 2.82% and taxes 3.82%.
The new plan, like the old, calls for cutting 19 positions of administrators, teachers and other workers, while raising class sizes in grades one through six. The revised version would add further cuts including five security guards.
Despite the cost-cutting, Wantagh's plan continues to exceed its tax cap, which would require the district to reduce tax collections by six-tenths of 1%. As a result, the revised budget would have to win a 60% voter majority in order to pass.
Wantagh's superintendent, John McNamara, said Tuesday that his district's cap was so restrictive that the system would have to cut spending by $2.7 million in order to comply. Operating on contingency would reduce spending less, McNamara added.
Three Village
Voters in the Three Village district will consider the same budget — with a 1.75% spending increase and a tax levy increase of 1.85% — when they again go to the polls, according to the statement posted on the district's website.
Since the budget would pierce the district’s state tax cap of 1.37%, a supermajority — 60% — of voters will need to approve it as well.
"The district firmly believes that this budget will sustain all current programs and services for students while keenly planning for the district’s long term fiscal stability," read the statement posted Wednesday.
The revote is scheduled for June 15 at Ward Melville High School with polls open between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Prior to last week's vote, Three Village officials had said they had to use $7 million of their reserves to fund the costs of the pandemic, and they need to replenish that fund. For its proposed budget of $222.6 million, the district had requested a tax levy increase of 1.85%, which was above the district's tax cap limit of 1.37%.
The budget failed by a tally of 2,286-1,677.
Wantagh and Three Village were two of three Long Island districts that failed to pass proposed budgets with the 60% majorities needed to override state caps. The other was Bridgehampton, where the board was to meet Wednesday evening.
A fourth district, Northport-East Northport, also is considering a revote. Its next board meeting is set for 7 p.m. Thursday.
In the first round of voting, 120 budgets passed in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
Under state law, districts where budgets fail in the first round of voting are left with three choices: Revote on the original budget, revote on a reduced budget, or skip a revote altogether and operate under a so-called "contingency" budget that freezes taxes for the year.
All budgets pending are for the 2021-22 school year, which starts July 1.
John Hildebrand is Newsday's senior education writer and has covered school news and policy issues affecting Long Island for more than 40 years.
