Voters in 18 LI school districts prepare to return to polls for re-vote

Voters in 18 of the 19 Long Island school districts that failed to pass a budget last month are preparing to re-vote Tuesday. While the Lawrence School District decided to go straight to a contingency

News 12 Staff

Jun 19, 2006, 10:51 PM

Updated 6,664 days ago

Share:

Voters in 18 of the 19 Long Island school districts that failed to pass a budget last month are preparing to re-vote Tuesday.
While the Lawrence School District decided to go straight to a contingency budget, many residents and officials in the remaining districts are hoping they don't have to. Officials from Bridgehampton, Roosevelt, Westbury, West Hempstead and William Floyd are all asking voters to approve the exact budgets that were defeated the first time around.
Bridgehampton's budget failed by only a six-vote margin, the narrowest on Long Island. Superintendent Dr. Dianne Youngblood says she believes many residents were angered at new property tax assessments released the same day as the first vote.
East Moriches, Patchogue-Medford and East Islip are putting up revised budgets before voters, but each is still asking for a double-digit increase.
A second failure would force a district to go on contingency, which would mean cuts to programs, staff and extra-curricular activities.
Related Information: Re-vote InformationLI School District Web sites2006 Property Tax Report Card Data