School Budgets Roundup
At a meeting on April 19, Bridgehampton School Board officials said state-mandated instructional changes, such as requiring a certified co-teacher in every classroom with non-English-speaking students, as well as a growing need for academic interventions, were mostly responsible for a 4.20-percent expenditure increase in the budget for the upcoming academic year.
To offset costs for the increase in staff for students who do not speak English, fewer assistant teachers will be hired next year, according to Lois Favre, the district superintendent.
The school board adopted a proposed $14,356,463 budget for 2017-2018, which is $578,024 higher than last year, at the meeting. The projected rate of school taxes per dollar of property value is $1.67 per $1,000, or, for a property valued at $1 million, taxes would be $1,670.
The budget’s proposed tax levy increase is 5.54 percent, which is below the allowed tax cap.
A public budget hearing is scheduled for Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. The statewide budget vote will take place on Tuesday, May 16, between 2 and 8 p.m.
Bridgehampton voters will be asked to cast ballots on two propositions. The first is on the above budget. The second will ask voters permission to distribute the balance in the 2013 approved capital reserve fund to a new fund that will be called the Geothermal System and Five Year Plan Reserve Capital Reserve Fund. The purpose of the fund, at no cost to the taxpayer, will be for the acquisition, installation, and maintenance of a geothermal heating and cooling system as part of the school’s expansion plan. The fund will not exceed $1,275,000, and will be endowed by transferring the $1,097,777 from the capital reserve fund as well as from an unassigned, unappropriated fund balance and unexpected appropriations.
Commenting on construction plans, Dr. Favre said, “We have responded to the community’s request that we assure geothermal in the new addition and we have found a way to make it happen without asking taxpayers for more money.”
The Springs School Board has officially adopted a $28,113,085 budget for the 2017-2018 academic year, representing a 1.75-percent increase over last year, with an anticipated increase in the tax levy of 2.15 percent, which is below the state cap on increases in tax levies by 0.08 percent.
Carl Fraser, the school district’s interim business administrator, presented the figures at a board meeting on April 19, breaking them down to reflect how the anticipated tax increase would affect taxpayers.
“For a home assessed at $400,000,” Mr. Fraser said, “the increase in taxes would be $71 a year. For homes valued at $600,000 the increase would be $107 per year, and owners of homes assessed at $800,000 would see an increase of $142 a year.”
Timothy Frazier, the vice president of the board, congratulated the school administrators for their efforts, while Barbara Dayton, the board president, declared, “We have an adopted budget.”
A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Monday, May 8, at 7 p.m. at the school. The budget vote will take place on Tuesday, May 16, from 1 to 9 p.m.
The Montauk School Board has adopted a proposed $18,823,358 budget for 2017-2018, down from last year’s $18,978,163. A budget hearing on the budget is scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m., following a regular board of education meeting at 5:30 p.m.
A school board meeting scheduled for Tuesday at the Amagansett School was cancelled and has been rescheduled for May 9 at 6:30p.m., when a budget hearing will take place. The school’s adopted budget for 2017-18 is $10,678,819, which represents a 1.96-percent increase over last year’s over-the-tax-cap final mumber.
The tax levy increase is below the cap, confirmed Eleanor Tritt, the district superintendent.
In Sag Harbor, a final budget presentation is scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m., followed by a Meet the Candidates program. A budget hearing will take place on May 8 at 7:30 pm.