West Babylon decides not to seek override of school budget tax cap
West Babylon's school board's decision Wednesday was a dramatic reversal. Credit: John Roca
In a dramatic reversal, West Babylon’s school board decided late Wednesday to hold a revote on a $136.3 million budget proposal that stays within the district’s 2.013% tax cap.
The board originally intended to attempt a cap override for the second time and raise taxes higher, but changed its mind after dozens of residents showed up at a meeting and warned that an override most probably would not pass. The revote on the 2024-25 school year budget is set for June 18.
To lower its tax plan, West Babylon, which enrolls about 3,600 students, has cut back on spending, including more than $700,000 for remedial tutoring of students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Some parents who attended the meeting expressed regret over the cuts, but also relief that the board had come up with a budget plan more likely to be approved by voters.
“I’m unhappy about it, but I’m going to vote ‘yes,’ ” said Ana Galdamez, a mother of two and PTA president at the district’s Tooker Avenue School.
At the close of the tense three-hour meeting, West Babylon’s superintendent, Yiendhy Farrelly, told a reporter, “I don’t have to tell you how difficult this was. However, at the end of the day, we arrived at a budget that is at our tax cap.”
In an initial public vote last week, a slightly higher budget proposal of about $136.9 million that would have raised West Babylon’s taxes 4.99% failed to gather the 60% majority vote — rather than just a simple majority — required by state law for overrides. The vote was 1,333 in favor and 1,028 against. — a 56% majority.
The Sachem district, Long Island’s second largest, also is considering a June 18 revote, but has not yet settled on its final budget and tax figures, said a district spokesperson Thursday.
Across Long Island generally, school voting followed a familiar pattern on May 21 with budgets passing in 122 districts out of 124. In the East End, where property taxes are generally lower, the districts of Amagansett, East Hampton and Springs all managed to override caps. Port Washington in western Nassau County also succeeded in piercing its cap.
West Babylon faced particular fiscal pressures, according to administrators there. At Wednesday’s meeting, Farrelly ran through a list of spending cuts imposed by the district even before it finally decided to stick within its cap: three administrative slots abolished, the equivalent of 16 full-time teacher jobs eliminated, all field trips canceled, music and art sessions reduced.
Lucy Campasano, the board’s longtime president who is stepping down in July, said she understood the need for some cuts, but felt that making enough cuts to remain within the cap would be too drastic.
“We would have to eliminate so much that it would really, really change the face of West Babylon,” Campasano said.
Before Wednesday’s meeting, a majority of West Babylon’s school board including the president had agreed informally to seek a 3.5% tax increase in June. That consensus shattered, however, when residents attending the meeting began raising objections.
Sean McLaughlin, 53, an advertising salesperson and father of a 10th-grader, was among residents who spoke. Like others, he declared that a second override attempt could result in another voter rejection and further program cuts.
“Those ‘no’ votes are not going away,” McLaughlin said. “It would break my heart if kids could not play sports next year. Please, please, find a way to bring this (tax) down to 2%.”
After nearly an hour’s additional discussion, board members voted to stay within the cap, with seven in favor and two opposed including Campasano.
In a statement issued Thursday, Farrelly provided more details on the revised budget agreement, saying that the district would draw on $4.658 million in cash reserves and fund balances, including $1.895 million added Wednesday, to help pay expenses and hold down property-tax increases. The superintendent and other administrators have acknowledged that spending down reserves could eventually result in a lower district credit rating and higher costs of borrowing.
John Hildebrand is Newsday's senior education writer and has covered school news and policy issues affecting Long Island for more than 40 years.
