Editorial: Vote ‘yes’ on local school budgets Tuesday

This year, news about New York State’s financial aid to North Fork school districts has been a source of encouragement. The state budget for fiscal year 2023-24 includes $34 billion in general funds for its public schools, an increase of $3 billion over the current school year.

Almost all East End school districts received a bump of approximately 3% in aid, with two notable exceptions on the North Fork: Greenport received a 47.4% increase in aid and the Riverhead Central School District received a bump of 34.6%, or nearly $20 million more than it received this year. 

All of these increases are welcome developments as we approach next Tuesday, May 16, when local voters will cast ballots on each school district’s proposed budget and choose candidates to fill open seats on their Boards of Education. 

With the bulk of our property taxes going to schools, it’s vital for our well-being — and that of the North Fork as a whole — that we pay close attention to the districts’ proposals and learn about the school board candidates.

With that in mind, we urge voters to approve their district’s budget proposals and to select the candidates best suited to meet the very specific, and often unique, educational and financial challenges each district faces. A no-vote on a school budget sets a district back and puts everything from sports and arts programs to after-school activities in jeopardy. Voting “no” is not the way forward.

Last month, in both The Suffolk Times and the Riverhead News-Review, we laid out each district’s financial proposals and the candidates on the ballots. 

As a reminder, a summary of each district’s 2023-24 budget proposal and open board seats follows. 

Mattituck-Cutchogue is proposing a budget of $44,016,344, increasing the tax levy by 2.77%. The district is proposing to spend $4.3 million from the capital reserve fund for projects at both the elementary and high schools. There are two open seats on the Board of Education.

New Suffolkis proposing a budget of $1,188,645, an increase of $90,188 over the current year’s budget. Last year, voters approved a $1.1 million budget that pierced the property tax cap. One seat is open on the Board of Education.

Southold is proposing a budget of $33,168,000, a tax levy increase of 2.94% over last year’s budget of $32.2 million. There are three open seats on the Board of Education.

Greenport is proposing a budget of $23,709,875, a hike of 9.63% over the previous year. There is one open seat on the Board of Education.

Oysterponds is proposing a budget of $5,558,823, a 1.775 reduction from last year’s budget. There are two open seats on the Board of Education.

Riverhead is proposing a budget of $191,999,210, a 1% increase over last year. There are four open seats on the Board of Education.

Shoreham-Wading River is proposing a budget of $84, 794360, a 2.16% increase from last year. There are three open seats on the Board of Education.