The East Hampton School Board voted Tuesday to put a state tax cap-compliant $79.08 million budget plan on the ballot in May.
The year-over-year spending increase is $2.47 million, or just over 3 percent, and the associated tax-levy increase is 3.37 percent. That’s higher than the “2-percent tax cap” language that people are used to hearing, due to circumstances specific to East Hampton, such as real estate growth and the amount of debt the district carries. A simple majority of voter approval will pass this budget plan.
“We are both happy and fortunate to be under the tax cap this year,” J.P. Foster, the school board president, said yesterday morning. “With rising costs across the board, it is certainly a challenge.”
School officials have previously said the same inflation rate affecting the economy and utility spending is also impacting the budget, as is the rising cost of health insurance and benefits for retirees.
Also on the ballot is a capital improvement proposition for $3.925 million, for a series of upgrades and repairs across all school campuses. This proposition is not expected to increase taxes because the money has already been set aside for such purposes; the district simply needs approval from voters to access the funds.
That proposition will fund parking lot repairs and improved drainage at the John M. Marshall Elementary School; a veranda outside the cafeteria at East Hampton High School; parking lot repairs and a new bathroom facility for the maintenance and operations department, also at the high school, and new lockers at East Hampton Middle School.
A public hearing on the budget will be held on May 2 in the high school library.