Long Island School Budget Vote Results: 113 Pass, 10 Fail

MacArthur High School, part of Levittown Public Schools

*This is an old story, for 2012 results click here.

Educators across Long Island breathed a huge sigh of relief Tuesday night because their worst fears did not come to pass. Voters approved 113 school budgets and rejected only 10.

Last month voters in New Jersey nixed more than 58 percent of their districts’ budgets, and school officials here were expecting the same.

“Our voters did just the opposite,” said Vincent Lyons, Suffolk regional staff director for the New York State United Teachers. “There’s always the fear we’re going to face a revolution, but our voters realized that the school system would be in jeopardy, and they stepped up to the plate and took responsibility. We’re very appreciative of that.”

He said that according to early reports voter turnout was up across the Island, but no hard figures are yet available.

Opponents of the school budget increases saw the results differently. “The unions got their message out and they won,” said Fred Gorman, head of Long Islanders for Education Reform. “They did a marvelous job of getting the vote out in the rain.”

The overwhelming passage rate did not surprise Andrea Vecchio, a co-founder of East Islip Tax-Pac. “The school boards got together and decided what the traffic would bear,” she said. “We do need some control over spending in the future. We certainly don’t have it now.”

Wendell Chu, president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association and superintendent of East Islip schools, was gratified that his budget passed with a tax levy increase of 1.64 percent. But he said that the lack of a state budget still posed a problem for administrators like him.

If the governor does restore some education aid, Chu said, school districts might be able to reduce the tax levy and fund their reserves. “But we can’t restore programs and teachers that were cut. We need the State Legislature to make some changes in the law.”

Of the 124 school districts on LI, 114 passed altogether. Lawrence voters approved their school budget last week.

Those that were rejected were Port Jefferson, which was seeking a 3.47 percent tax increase, West Babylon 7.1 percent, Wyandanch 13.93 percent, Elwood 5.93 percent, Herricks 3.8 percent, Garden City 3.21 percent, Levittown 6.12 percent and East Rockaway 2.19 percent.

Suffolk County Board of Election workers described voter turnout as one of the largest they’ve ever seen.

Statewide, the New York state Education Department reports voters have approved annual budgets for most school districts.

According to the department, the results from Tuesday voting show 624 budgets passed and 51 rejected.

Those rejections, 7.5 percent of the total, are scattered around the state.

The New York State United Teachers union says the results show New Yorkers in tough economic times still value education and want to spare students from deeper cuts.

E.J. McMahon, an analyst for the fiscally conservative Empire Center for New York State Policy, says the pass rate is typically high, and budgets this year had an average spending increase of 1.4 percent and an average tax increase of 3.2 percent, both lower than usual.

The LI school budgets that passed include: Amagansett, Amityville, Babylon, Baldwin, Bay Shore, Bayport-Blue Point, Bellmore, Bellmore-Merrick, Bethpage, Brentwood, Bridgehampton, Carle Place, Center Moriches, Central Islip, Cold Spring Harbor, Commack, Comsewogue, Connetquot, Copiague, Deer Park, East Hampton, East Islip, East Meadow, East Moriches, East Quogue, East Williston, Eastport-South Manor, Elmont, Farmingdale, Fire Island, Fishers Island, Floral Park-Bellerose, Franklin Square, Freeport, Glen Cove, Great Neck, Greenport, Half Hollow Hills, Hampton Bays, Harborfields, Hauppauge, Hempstead, Hewlett-Woodmere, Hicksville, Huntington, Island Park, Island Trees, Islip, Jericho, Kings Park, Lawrence, Lindenhurst, Locust Valley, Long Beach, Longwood, Lynbrook, Malverne, Manhasset, Massapequa, Mattituck-Cutchogue, Merrick, Middle Country, Miller Place, Mineola, Montauk, Mount Sinai, New Hyde Park-Garden City Park, New Suffolk, North Babylon, North Bellmore, North Merrick, North Shore, Northport-East Northport, Oceanside, Oyster Bay-East Norwich, Oysterponds, Patchogue-Medford, Plainedge, Plainview-Old Bethpage, Port Jefferson, Port Washington, Quogue, Remsenburg-Speonk, Riverhead, Rockville Centre, Rocky Point, Roosevelt, Roslyn, Sachem, Sag Harbor, Sagaponack, Sayville, Seaford, Sewanhaka, Shelter Island, Shoreham-Wading River, Smithtown, South Country, South Huntington, Southampton, Southold, Springs, Syosset, Three Village, Tuckahoe, Uniondale, Valley Stream 13, Valley Stream 24, Valley Stream 30, Valley Stream Central, Wainscott Common, Wantagh, West Islip, Westhampton Beach, William Floyd.

With Associated Press