School budget vote today: What to know before heading to the polls
Long Island voters on Tuesday will decide whether to approve the budget proposals of 124 school districts, with seven taking the risky move of attempting to pierce their tax cap.
If all budgets pass, spending across Island public schools would total nearly $16.9 billion in the 2026-27 academic year, a 3.26% increase over the current year. Local property taxes would rise 2.5%, to $10 billion Islandwide.
The spending increase is on par with the latest Consumer Price Index of 3.8%, as of April.
This year’s budget season was marked by widespread cuts.
A Newsday analysis found a third of Island districts have adopted budgets calling for reductions in staffing or programs. Only a few said they would add staff or programs. School officials across the region have cited skyrocketing costs, driven in part by inflation, among reasons for the cuts.
“Inflation impacts us as homeowners, but it also impacts school districts and to some extent to a greater degree because of the size of our budgets,” said Tim Eagen, president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association.
Another challenge districts faced this year was the uncertainty posed by the delay of the state budget, which was due April 1 but had yet to be finalized as of Monday. Without an approved state budget, districts did not know exactly how much state aid their schools would receive next school year.
Most were anticipating a minimum 2% increase in their foundation aid, as opposed to the 1% laid out in the budget plan unveiled by Gov. Kathy Hochul in January, said Eagen, also superintendent of the Kings Park district.
“We have the most unusual and bizarre task of putting together a budget not fully knowing what our revenue is,” he said. “Albany's got to do better.”
Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, said local districts have tried to be sensitive in the budgets they present to the taxpayers for approval.
“To have high performing school districts like we do for the most part on Long Island, that takes proper investment to maintain, particularly in an era where we're seeing high inflation and not enough resources coming out of Albany or Washington, D.C.,” he said.
Here’s what to know before you head to your polling station:
What will Long Islanders vote on Tuesday?
In addition to their local budget, Islanders will consider at least 90 propositions, mostly for capital projects to improve school facilities.
There are also school board elections. Across the Island, 358 candidates are vying for 257 seats. Many are running unopposed, as fewer than half — 51 — districts have contested races.
Budget and school board candidate information for each district, as well as polling stations and hours, can be found in Newsday's school voters’ guide.
What is a tax cap override?
In 2012, New York State established a tax cap that limits how much a district can raise its property tax levy each year. The cap has been set at a baseline of 2% for the past five years. The exact limit for each district varies based on their fiscal circumstances.
Seven districts — Shelter Island, Uniondale, Lynbrook, Bayport-Blue Point, Greenport, South Country and Islip — are seeking to pierce their caps. Such a request is risky as it requires a 60% supermajority, rather than a simple majority of more than 50% of voter approval.
Uniondale and Bayport-Blue Point face an unusual situation in which their caps are negative, meaning they would have to reduce their tax levy to be in compliance with the cap. Shelter Island is trying to bring back a program it cut last year after its cap override was voted down. All seven said they needed to pierce their cap to maintain programs.
South Country is in a category of its own. The district cut dozens of staff last year and has proposed to lose 60 additional positions. State lawmakers recently approved a request from the district to borrow up to $11 million to address deficits due to mismanagement and overspending. But officials say that still isn't enough to make up a multimillion-dollar shortfall for 2026-27 and have proposed a 13.45% levy hike.
What happens if a budget proposal fails?
The district has another chance to present either the same spending plan or a new one for a revote on June 16. If voters reject that proposal, the district must adopt a contingency budget that would not raise the tax levy.
School officials tend to consider such budgets to be draconian, as they impose other restrictions in addition to a levy freeze.
A district could not buy any equipment unless it was for the health and safety of students and staff, said Joe Dragone, an adjunct professor at Hofstra University and a longtime school business official. A defibrillator would be OK, for example, but not a copier.
The school board could also cut extracurricular activities.
“They could eliminate clubs, concerts, athletic teams as part of a contingency budget,” Dragone said. “They may have to if they have to make cuts in order to get the levy down to zero.”
Districts try to avoid such an outcome as much as they can, Dragone said.
“They think very, very hard about presenting a budget that the community won't pass because contingency really is a deep, deep cut that takes years to recover from,” he said.
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
