School Budget to Decrease

Residents of the Wainscott School District could potentially see their school taxes drop for the third year in a row if the school’s proposed $3.06 million budget is approved by voters.

Just how large that decrease will be depends upon the results of town property tax assessments, which will not be finalized for several months yet. But next year’s budget, which the Wainscott School Board adopted unanimously on April 15, is the fourth straight budget that includes a decrease in spending and is the third straight budget that includes a decrease in the tax levy.

Stuart Rachlin, the district’s superintendent, called it “a fiscally responsible budget,” and David Eagan, the school board president, said, “It’s safe to say, cumulatively, there’s no district on Long Island” that can claim decreases in spending and in the tax levy in that many consecutive years.

“That highlights the positive side of the uniqueness of our district,” Mr. Eagan said.

The decrease in spending is approximately $50,000 and will be made up using reserve funds, school officials said during the meeting on Wednesday. Rather than increasing the tax levy by about 3 percent, which is what Wainscott’s limit was under the state tax levy formula, the school district chose to decrease it by about 2 percent.

According to a line-by-line budget breakdown, Wainscott’s adopted budget adds $2,000 for library supplies and $5,000 for a robotics program. It also includes about $4,000 for a Board of Cooperative Educational Services program that will digitize the school district’s records, a service that Mr. Rachlin said is needed because the school is running out of physical space for its records.

The school will spend about $31,700 less next year on its contract with Mr. Rachlin, who works part time, and it will spend about $20,600 more on salaries for its full-time and part-time teachers. Spending on employee benefits for administrators will decrease, while benefit costs for the teaching staff will increase. The amount Wainscott pays for the school nurse, psychologist, and other health-related services will collectively decrease by more than $20,000, while the amount the district pays for utilities is expected to increase by about $1,000.

Wainscott residents will have a chance to vote on that budget on May 19 between 2 and 8 p.m. at the school building at 47 Wainscott Main Street.