Riverhead schools budget would bump spending by 1.99%

The proposed 2010-2011 school budget that will go before the Riverhead Board of Education for a vote Tuesday, April 13, calls for a 1.99 percent spending increase, bringing total spending for the district to over $108 million, school officials said Friday.
If the school board approves the proposed budget, it will go before district taxpayers May 18, when school budgets throughout New York State are voted on.
The tax levy, which is the amount of school taxes paid by residents of the entire district, would be up by about 2.5 percent under that budget, explained Superintendent Diane Scricca. About 20 teachers have accepted a new retirement incentive program being offered, which has enabled the district to lower the proposed spending increase, she said. The tax rate, which is usually vastly different in each of the three towns in which the district is located in, will not be known until the fall.
Tuesday’s board meeting will be part of a work session that begins at 8 p.m. in the Riley Avenue Elementary School.
In addition to the budget, the May 18 ballot will include school board elections for the seats currently held by Mary-Ellen Harkin and Christine Prete, and a special proposition to authorize the spending of $1.34 million of capital reserve funds to install an elevator and new roof on the Roanoke Avenue school. The district already has that money, which is part of a voter-approved capital reserve fund, but needs voter approval for specific use of it.