School elections guide: $16B in spending, more than 370 board candidates on Long Island ballots Tuesday

Nearly $16 billion in proposed school spending will appear on Long Island ballots Tuesday, along with 373 candidates running for boards in 124 districts, as voters make their annual trip to the polls to determine what their schools will look like in the next academic year. 

Among the issues they will be considering: Overall school tax increases of 2.56%; spending that will rise an average of 4.18%; and in six districts, a proposed override of state cap limits on property taxes so those systems can raise additional revenue. In addition, dozens of districts have included special propositions on their ballots, some of which would raise taxes if approved. 

Details on those and other issues are presented in the district profiles here, and throughout this Voters Guide, produced by 37 Newsday reporters and editors. 

Plans to pierce tax cap

School districts attempting to boost property taxes beyond the state's allowable cap limits usually warn residents that a "no" vote risks loss of student programs.

That's the situation in Port Washington, which seeks a 4.55% tax hike — higher than the 3.39% limit set by the state's tax-cap law. The district enrolls 5,440 students on Nassau County's North Shore. 

At a recent night meeting, Port Washington officials outlined the district's proposed $194.6 million budget, which includes higher taxes. Officials contended that extra revenue was needed to cope with rising costs while maintaining quality programs. Costs include a projected $5.4 million increase in employee salaries and benefits during the 2024-25 school year. 

Officials went on to warn that if voters rejected the district's budget, that could result in a tax freeze and  more than $7 million in spending cuts. Prekindergarten classes for 72 children would have to be eliminated, along with 9.5 staff positions. 

"This would really begin to dismantle a lot of the programs that the community has worked so hard to put in place," said Kathleen Manuel, the system's assistant superintendent for business. 

The five other districts that will try for cap overrides in Tuesday's voting are Sachem, West Babylon, East Hampton, Springs and Amagansett.

Under the cap law, overrides require voter majorities of at least 60%. Districts may submit budgets to voters twice, including revotes in June. Two failures force a freeze.

This risk, while real, is relatively rare. In years past, most districts where residents voted "no" in the first round of balloting reduced budgets to keep within caps and win in the second round.

Port Washington's elected board leaders seem confident of the outcome. The district's teacher union has pledged support of the budget. School board president Adam Smith, who is running for reelection, told Newsday he expected a first-ballot win, regretted the need for a tax override, but considered the spending plan "good for children."

Some residents worry about the impact on taxpayers. One local parent, Teodora Choolfaian, who is running for the school board as a challenger, objected to the override attempt during a public-discussion period at the night meeting. 

"How do you think it feels to belong to a group of people who can't afford to pay any more funds in taxes?" Choolfaian said. 

Some layoffs planned

Several of Long Island's school districts, including Amityville, are planning staff layoffs and reductions in their proposed budgets.

The reasons for the layoffs vary, but a common theme is the end of pandemic-related government aid, which is set to stop this year.

Amityville district officials, who have been struggling with their finances for months, announced in March that some 47 teachers and staff would lose their jobs at the end of this school year — but that number is currently unclear. The school board adopted the $117.7 million spending plan at its April 23 meeting, bridging a $4.6 million budget gap with a mix of additional state aid, a tax increase along with the staff and other cuts.

The number of layoffs is murky, officials said, because the district has received a last-minute infusion of $2 million in extra state aid. The majority of that $2 million was earmarked to keep Northeast School open for the 2024-25 school year, saving staffing positions at that building. The building houses the district’s prekindergarten program.

The additional funding also allows the district to preserve all student clubs and intramural sports for the upcoming year, officials said.

The Sachem school district plans cuts of 60 staff positions made up of elementary teachers, secondary-grade-level teachers, and clerical and custodial jobs, officials said. The district plans to do so through several means such as retirements, excessing and restructuring. A total of 12 teaching assistant positions also will be cut, using layoffs and restructuring.

Riverhead school district officials said their spending plan would eliminate 33 faculty positions and 18 teacher assistants because the district faces a “fiscal cliff” of nearly $20 million, officials said. The $20 million was the amount the district received in COVID-19 recovery grant money, set to run out this fall, officials said.

In addition, the Manhasset school district plans to eliminate four teacher assistant positions at Shelter Rock Elementary School and four teacher assistant positions at Munsey Park Elementary School. Also, the district plans to eliminate two teacher assistant positions in the elementary computer lab, three teacher assistant positions in the library, and one departmental teaching assistant, officials said.

In the West Babylon district, officials plan to eliminate three administrator positions and 16 full-time teaching and staff positions as a result of declining enrollment, and to restructure department chair responsibilities and the elementary academic intervention program.

Propositions on ballots

Some Island districts, in their budget proposals, are asking voters to approve high-dollar-amount propositions to help pay for infrastructure improvements or pay down debt from Child Victims Act lawsuits' settlements.

In Longwood, the district is asking residents to consider two propositions funding $193 million in major infrastructure projects and HVAC upgrades that would put air conditioning in every classroom.

The district anticipates that 75% of the $158 million project listed as Bond Proposition I on the ballot would be reimbursed by the state, and the remaining amount would cost the average property owner who pays $7,225 in annual school taxes $14.97 per month over 15 years.

The other proposition is a $35 million project, which would fund HVAC improvements. The district expects to receive $26.2 million in state funding, leaving taxpayers responsible for about $8.8 million. That would cost the average taxpayer $4.13 per month over 15 years.

In Baldwin, residents will vote on a bond referendum of $134.8 million for the district to build a new high school athletic center and a new performing arts center, among other upgrades.

The reconstruction of a wing of the high school, expected to cost nearly $52 million, will add outdoor learning space and ease hallway crowding.

The district expects to receive state aid for the projects and anticipates the cost for 95% of homeowners to range from $11.40 to $22.76 per month, depending on the home’s assessed value. Those dollar amounts would be phased in over several years as the projects progress for an overall term of about 15 years, officials said.

“We do not have any expectations for any reduction of any existing programs,” said James P. Robinson, the district’s assistant superintendent for business and administrative services. “It’s to build upon our programs.”

In Harborfields, the district is seeking community support to liquidate a capital reserve fund so officials can apply nearly $1.1 million toward the $2.55 million debt that resulted from settling two Child Victims Act lawsuits. Two former students who sued said they were sexually abused by the same music teacher in the 1970s.

School officials reiterated that paying down the debt will save residents money in interest payments that would otherwise be paid to finance that debt over time. Also, the proposition to liquidate the reserve will not result in property tax increases for residents.

With Vera Chinese