The vast majority of Long Islanders say they are ready to consider consolidating some their school district's functions in order to lift the burden of property taxes.

According to a new survey released Tuesday by the Long Island Index, 84 percent of Long Islanders consider property taxes as an "extremely" or "very serious" problem. That's a 7 percent rise from 2004, when 77 percent of residents reported property taxes as a problem of that magnitude.

Eighty-nine percent of those polled in the Long Island Index's Fall 2007 Survey called for an average tax reduction of $3,000, which would require an approximately 19 percent cut in spending across the region.

In order to achieve savings, Long Islanders would support some changes to schools, which comprise on average 65 percent of residents' tax bills. While district-wide consolidation was not embraced, nearly two-thirds of Long Islanders favored back-office consolidation. That includes sharing payroll, finance, purchasing agreements and insurance functions with neighboring school districts. Establishing a cap on school taxes was also favored, the survey showed.

In another effort to cut taxes, nearly two-thirds of Long Islanders supported the "consolidation of non-emergency services into single county-wide districts."

Additionally, four out of five residents favored combining district elections and school voting into one date in May. Both elections historically have low voter turnout.

The Long Island Index survey, conducted by Stony Brook's Center for Survey Research, questioned 810 Nassau and Suffolk residents. The margin of error for the study is plus or minus 3.4 percent.

Related Information:Long Island Index Fall 2007 Survey