Officials: 6 LI budgets to exceed state cap

At least six Long Island school districts plan to propose budgets that would result in property-tax increases exceeding taxation limits the state is imposing next year for the first time, officials said Wednesday.

Some officials in the six districts, all in Suffolk County, said those plans could change if employee unions agree to last-minute wage concessions. They added, however, that without more money -- either from cost reductions tied to personnel or from taxpayers -- they see no way to avoid cuts in popular programs, including music and sports.

Districts planning to seek tax hikes above the new state limits include Amagansett, East Islip, North Babylon, Remsenberg-Speonk, Rocky Point and Westhampton Beach. No Nassau districts have yet announced similar plans, though sources said a few have had private discussions.

"We know this is a very, very risky undertaking," said Glenn Reed, president of East Islip's school board. "But we've heard from residents at board meetings that they want us to try. We've told them, 'You said you want this. Now you have to vote for it.' "

The risk: Districts seeking to pierce the cap must win support from at least 60 percent of local voters. Those losing such votes twice in a row face tax freezes.

Residents will vote on school budgets, which account for more than 60 percent of property taxes, on May 15. The state's new tax caps take effect at the beginning of the next school year, on July 1.

In East Islip, Reed said unless the district exceeds the cap, it faces the prospect of laying off about 40 teachers and other staffers while also cutting sports, music and full-day kindergarten.

In Westhampton Beach, board member Beecher Halsey offered a similar rationale for his district's decision to seek higher taxes.

"There was a whole range of programs we felt were vulnerable," he said. "We're trying to find a balance between keeping taxes down for residents and serving the best needs of students. We think we've found that balance."

Taxpayer representatives voiced outrage over the recent announcements while noting that most of the Island's 124 districts evidently intend to stay within state limits.

"It indicates that people are taking the cap seriously," said Andrea Vecchio, a longtime East Islip taxpayer advocate and an organizer of a regional tax group, Long Islanders for Educational Reform. "But not in East Islip, certainly. They're blackmailing parents to get a 60 percent vote."

Across the Island, school finance experts say that districts attempting to exceed the cap could have a difficult time explaining their plans to voters. Those experts note there is a widespread public belief that the cap imposes a flat 2 percent limit on annual tax increases. That is the figure most often cited by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and state lawmakers who approved the cap measure last July.

However, those political leaders also have pointed out that the new law exempts certain spending items -- notably, excess pension costs and debt service on construction bond borrowing -- from the cap.

East Islip, for example, says its permissible proposed tax increase under the new law is 3.23 percent, because of exempted costs of debt service on $72 million in school-renovation borrowing approved by voters some years ago. A local advisory committee had recommended that the district seek a 6.5 percent tax increase. But the board rejected that figure, saying it would come up with a final number April 19.

Remsenberg-Speonk has decided to seek a 6.8 percent tax hike; Amagansett, 4 percent; and Westhampton Beach, 2.89 percent, officials said Wednesday. North Babylon and Rocky Point have not yet revealed exact figures.