New Suffolk, Three Village, Fishers Island school districts face fiscal risk, state comptroller's report says
Three LI school districts are among 14 statewide designated in some level of fiscal stress under state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. Fishers Island School on August 31, 2007 Credit: Jeanne F. Schultz
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli listed three Long Island school districts in varying levels of fiscal stress among 14 designated statewide Wednesday.
DiNapoli noted the New Suffolk school district, south of Cutchogue on the North Fork, was listed in “moderate fiscal stress,” the middle of three levels designated by the comptroller’s office.
The Three Village school district in Setauket and Stony Brook, and the remote Fishers Island school district, located on an island off the North Fork, were at the mildest level, “susceptible to fiscal stress.”
The comptroller’s office releases the report every year to monitor school district finances across the state. The districts on DiNapoli's list were identified for the fiscal year ending in June of last year.
“The number of districts designated in a fiscal stress category has fallen considerably over the past three years. This year there was a particularly steep drop because of significant increases in both federal and state aid,” DiNapoli said in a statement Wednesday.
DiNapoli cautioned, however, that "the federal aid is temporary, so school district officials may face difficult operational and staffing decisions in determining how to best provide services to their students in the future.”
The report monitors towns and village school district budgets to determine if expenses match revenues. It excludes large districts, such as New York City.
Three Village and New Suffolk were the only districts from Long Island to repeat on the list after appearing last year as "susceptible to fiscal stress."
Other Island districts that had no designation and made improvements from last year included the Hempstead, North Merrick and Roosevelt school districts in Nassau County, and Bay Shore, Greenport, Middle Country and South Huntington in Suffolk County.
The Fishers Island district teaches 58 K-12 students on the island located south of Connecticut and only accessible by ferry. Superintendent Christian Arsenault said the state’s evaluation may impact smaller districts. He said the district is in good financial position.
“After speaking with the [comptroller’s office], we agreed that some of the calculations used in determining fiscal stress points can affect smaller districts differently than larger districts. We … look forward to working together to implement best practices to help improve and maintain the district’s sound financial conditions.”
The New Suffolk school district includes a three-room 1907 schoolhouse, teaching grades K-6, according to the district’s website.
In a statement Wednesday, the Three Village school district said, "Although the district remains strong in our overall financial operations, we are not surprised to find ourselves listed as 'susceptible to fiscal stress.' This status is a result of the funds we borrowed from our reserves to support our commitment to offer full in-person learning during the COVID pandemic, which we are in the process of rebuilding."
The only district in the state deemed to be in "significant fiscal stress" was the Mount Vernon school district just north of New York City.
DiNapoli said the largest improvement for all districts was less short-term debt and borrowing, which dropped nearly 70% statewide.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
