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Complete voters guide for Riverhead, SWR schools

By Nicole Smith

Students on the staff of The Riptide, Riverhead High School’s newspaper, are working to create a Spanish version of the website — translated by students — to better serve their bilingual classmates. The Riptide, which can be found at rhsriptide.com, maintains a staff of about 10 students in addition to freelancers who contribute content like sports photos. (Credit: Courtesy Photo)
Students at the Riverhead High School Key Club’s 2016 Safe Halloween event. (Courtesy photo)

The Riverhead Central School District is asking voters to approve a $140.3 million spending plan for the 2018-19 school year. This constitutes a 2.9 percent increase over the current year’s budget and remains under the tax cap at .91 percent increase.

A large portion of the proposed budget increase is to cover the district’s growing enrollment, especially regarding English Language Learner and special education students, deputy superintendent Sam Schneider said last month.

The number of ELL students in the district more than doubled between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 school years — from 538 to 1,638. Similarly, the population of students requiring special education services grew from 775 to 1,211 during that time.

To meet these growing needs, the district has proposed adding 4.5 positions for next year. These include a full-time bilingual guidance counselor at the high school, a full-time Spanish teacher at the middle school, a full-time bilingual reading teacher at Pulaski Street School, a full-time English as a New Language teacher at Riley Avenue School and a part-time reading teacher at Roanoke Avenue School.

The district is also looking to bolster security with the addition of two full-time door monitors, one at Phillips Avenue and one at Riley Avenue, and a districtwide school resource officer.

Voters will also be asked to decide on two propositions, both related to cafeterias.

The first would allow the district to spend $154,500 from the cafeteria fund to add a walk-in freezer at Phillips Avenue Elementary School and to install larger sinks there, as well as at Riley and Aquebogue elementary schools, that can accommodate standard baking pans and comply with county health codes.

The second proposition would establish a cafeteria capital reserve fund. It would not exceed $4 million and would last for 20 years, Mr. Schneider said during a March meeting.

Funding for both propositions would come entirely from the cafeteria program itself and not from the taxpayers, he said.

The budget vote is scheduled for 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 15. Residents will vote at the elementary school a child living in their home would attend. 

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