2013 Riverhead School District Voter Guide: How Will You Vote?

Voters in the Riverhead area will head to the polls on Tuesday to say “yes” or “no” to the school district’s proposed $117.6 million 2013-2014 budget. When the budget was adopted, Superintendent Nancy Carney said the vote was "unanimous" and said teacher retirements and an infusion of state aid allowed for a continuation of student programs with no cuts.

Carney explained the budget as presented represented a spending increase of 5.22 percent.

The budget also reflects a 3.82 percent increase in the year-to-year tax levy - and a 14.55 percent increase in state aid.

Carney also discussed two ballot propositions that will be put forth to voters on May 21.

The first involves asking the voters to establish a savings account of up to $10 million to fund a new bus garage, maintenance area, and improvements to athletic fields. 

The savings account, Carney said, would be funded from the sale of property on Tuthills Lane in Aquebogue, and unreserved, undesignated fund balance.

In June, the board voted unanimously to sell the development rights on 25 acres of Aquebogue land to Suffolk County for $1.325 million.

The land, located on Tuthills Lane in Aquebogue near the Aquebogue Elementary School, will be preserved as farmland under the Suffolk County New Drinking Water Protection Program, should the county approve the purchase.

A new committee is being formed to evaluate what to do with proceeds from the sale, Board of Education President Ann Cotten-DeGrasse said; one option is to relocate the bus garage to a new site and make the current school property only an educational complex.

The proposition would not result in any increase in taxes, would have no impact on the budget, and would not mean any debt, Carney said.

The second ballot proposition would ask the voters to allow the Riverhead school district to purchase two parcels of land that would allow a new bus garage to have access to Route 24/Flanders Road.

The total combined cost for the parcels would equal $480,000, including fees. Funds would come from the sale of the Tuthills Lane property, Carney said.

The proposition would also result in no taxes or cost to residents. The propositions, Carney said, would establish a savings account for future use, fund land purchases from the sale of other real property, and allow the district to replace a "failing building," according to Carney. She added that voting for the propositions does not mean voting to move the bus barn -- that would be put to a vote in the future, she said.

The Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association sent a letter to Carney and other public officials recently protesting the proposal to move the district's bus barn to Riverside.

Members of the Flanders and Riverside community spoke out against the plan to relocate the bus barn at a public hearing on the proposed Riverhead school district budget -- and vowed to vote down the proposition. Community members organized a phone chain to urge residents to vote down the measure. Residents said moving the bus barn would pose a plethora of problems including traffic, pollution, and a use not intended for an area meant for economic revitalization.

The budget vote -- and election of new board of education members, with three candidates vying for two open seats -- will take place on May 21 from 6 a.m until 9 p.m. 

Will you vote yes or no? Why? Log in to Patch and tell us in the comments.


Recent Budget Coverage on Riverhead Patch:

• http://riverhead.patch.com/groups/schools/p/school-budget-proposal-comes-in-under-tax-levy-cap

• http://riverhead.patch.com/groups/schools/p/riverhead-boe-approves-1176-million-budget

• http://riverhead.patch.com/groups/schools/p/civic-leaders-vow-to-vote-down-bus-barn

• http://riverhead.patch.com/groups/schools/p/3-vie-for-2-seats-on-riverhead-board-of-education

• http://riverhead.patch.com/groups/schools/p/riverhead-boe-candidates-speak-to-public

School Board Candidates (vote for two)

• Amelia Lantz (incumbent)

• Jeff Falisi (incumbent)

• Chris Dorr

Polling Information

• Locations: Vote between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.

Aquebogue Elementary School

Phillips Avenue Elementary School

Riley Avenue Elementary School

Riverhead High School (For Roanoke Avenue Elementary School residents).

What if the budget doesn’t pass?

• The school board can choose to put the same budget up for a re-vote at a future date.

• The school board can choose to put up a revised budget at a future date.

• The school board can choose to go right into a contingency budget, which would not increase the tax levy but which would likely cause millions of dollars more in cuts.

• If a budget vote fails twice, the school district automatically is subject to a contingency budget.

View related budget documents on the school district’s website.