On the school ballot this year: budget, busing, and board candidates. And, in a twist, the budget requires a 60-percent margin to pass, even though it’s under the state tax levy cap.
That’s because the busing initiative — if approved — would push total spending for 2023/24 beyond the cap.
Voting is Tuesday, May 16, from noon to 9 PM in the gym.
Board candidates
There are three candidates for three seats.
Incumbents Tracy McCarthy and Dawn Hedberg are seeking re-election. They’re challenged by newcomers Anthony Rando and Emily R. Parsons.
The candidate who gets the most votes will immediately take the seat vacated by Rob Strauss, who left the board to take a teaching position at the school. The next highest vote-getters will be sworn in for three-year terms in July.
Budget and busing
The budget proposal calls for $12,664,093 in spending, a 1.76 percent increase over the current school year. The proposed property tax levy is $11,236,630, up 2 percent.
The proposed busing would add $102,498.12. As a result, both the budget proposition and the transportation proposition require a 60 percent passage rate.
If the budget proposition fails to attain that margin, the transportation proposition would be void, regardless of how much voter support it earns.
Superintendent Brian J. Doelger said the anticipated cost of busing includes ferriage for off-Island transportation vendors. The district must pay for two round-trip ferry rides per school day per bus.
How busing got on the school ballot
Under state law, district voters have the right to submit propositions that affect the budget if they concern a matter that requires voter approval, such as an increase in transportation limits.
Doelger said the transportation initiative was organized by parents of students attending Our Lady of the Hamptons at 160 Main Street in Southampton. In years past, at least one child attending the school lived within the 15-mile limit. That meant the school board was required to provide taxpayer-supported transportation.
As permitted by the New York State Education Department (NYSED), the school board allowed other students who didn’t live within the mandated radius to ride along, which incurred no additional expense.
Shortly before the current year’s budget was adopted, the family of the one qualifying student said it was moving away. So the board allowed (as NYSED permits) a temporary continuation of the bus service to give the families of other students time to organize a referendum, Doelger said.
If voters extend the busing limit to 17 miles, all home locations on Shelter Island will become eligible for taxpayer-funded busing to Our Lady of the Hamptons. But the busing limit isn’t exclusive to that school. It would also apply to any other nonpublic school within the radius.
And the new limit would remain in place until another proposition was put on the ballot to change it. While voters may approve an extension of the 15-mile limit for nonpublic school transportation, they may not reduce it, as the minimum is set by state law.
NYSED has an online handbook explaining some of the many complexities of providing transportation for eligible students. You can follow this link to read it on the NYSED website.
Budget details
Expenses
Here’s the school board’s proposed spending plan (not including the additional busing):
| Category | 2022/23 Approved Budget | 2023/24 Proposed Budget | % Change |
| Central Administration, Buildings & Grounds, and Data | $1,835,526 | $1,882,231 | 2.54 |
| Insurance and BOCES Administration | $178,520 | $195,113 | 9.29 |
| Academic Administration | $408,430 | $466,361 | 14.18 |
| Classroom Operations | $3,341,574 | $3,219,543 | (-3.65) |
| Special and Occupational Education | $1,124,332 | $1,103,752 | (-1.83) |
| Computer, Library, Summer, and ESL | $339,521 | $346,711 | 2.12 |
| Guidance, Counseling, and Health | $495,849 | $474,380 | (-4.33) |
| Clubs and Athletics | $285,572 | $350,773 | 22.83 |
| Transportation (not including Prop #2) | $541,556 | $447,356 | (-17.39) |
| Benefits and Debt Service | $3,758,643 | $4,047,898 | 7.70 |
| Transfers to Cafeteria and Special Aid | $136,000 | $129,974 | (-4.43) |
| Total | $12,445,523 | $12,664,093 | 1.76 |
Revenue
The district anticipates the following revenue but won’t be sure until NYS adopts its budget, which includes state aid details. However, the school board has pledged to keep the budget tax levy under the state cap.
| Category | 2022/23 Budget | 2023/24 Proposal | % Change |
| Property Taxes | $11,061,572 | $11,236,630 | 2.00 |
| State Aid | $683,620 | $694,128 | 1.54 |
| Reserves | $60,000 | $85,000 | 41.67 |
| Interest Income (new due to higher interest rates paid on district balances) | $0 | $25,000 | n.a. |
| Appropriated Fund Balance | $685,331 | $623,335 | (-9.05) |
| Total | $12,445,523 | $12,664,093 | 1.76 |
Options
As in any year, the board will have three options if the school budget fails. It could:
- put up the same budget for a re-vote
- modify the plan before re-submitting it to voters
- decide to operate on a contingency budget and forego a second vote
Proposition #2 does not get a re-vote. It may fail on its own merits. Or it may pass but become void if the budget fails to attain the required 60 percent approval margin. However, residents may organize another such effort in subsequent years.
A district must operate on a contingency plan if a budget proposal fails after a second vote. NYSED uses a formula to determine contingency budgets. Doelger says a contingency budget in this instance would require $220,000 cuts in expenditures, which would likely eliminate programs and teaching positions.
