Post by lilly on Mar 6, 2012 9:02:20 GMT -5
As district tax-cap exemption %ages trickle out over the next month or so, I expect we'll see more stories like this in Newsday. Or, in the case of Seaford, below the 2%. Hmmm, laws - when 2% is not 2%. We should know Wantagh's in the next week or two.
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www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/supe-lindenhurst-schools-can-top-tax-cap-1.3581021
Supe: Lindenhurst schools can top tax cap
Published: March 5, 2012 9:11 PM
By DENISE M. BONILLA denise.bonilla@newsday.com
The Lindenhurst Union Free School District can raise the tax levy by more than 2 percent and remain within the state's property tax cap, officials announced last week.
School officials delivered the news at the first of several budget workshops planned for this month, at the McKenna Administration Building.
Superintendent Richard Nathan said the district could increase taxes by 3.57 percent in the 2012-13 budget due to exemptions, including a portion of the district's increased pension costs.
The district's announcement came as school districts across Long Island wrestle with budgets amid the new 2-percent property tax cap.
The board said the budget was not complete and it could not say where the tax levy might land. However, several board members, and Nathan, said they do not want to pierce the tax cap.
"We need to make the tax cap a reality, not a calamity," Nathan told the several dozen residents at Wednesday's meeting, many of whom implored the board to keep the levy low.
Last year, Lindenhurst residents approved a $140 million budget with a 6.89-percent tax levy increase.
If the tax levy in the new budget exceeds the cap, Nathan said, at least 60 percent of voters would have to approve. Last year's budget was approved 2,154 to 2,026, or 51.5 percent of the vote.
"Clearly it would be a very difficult thing to do in Lindenhurst," Nathan said. "We're not going to come out with another 7 percent, I'll tell you that."
The superintendent noted that the district is negotiating with its six bargaining units, including teachers, whose contract expired in June. He said officials are frustrated by the Triborough Amendment, which allows public employees to collect annual "steps" in their contracts even after the contracts expire.
"In my opinion, there isn't the motivation to bargain," Nathan said, adding, "I'm not faulting anything other than the law."
Rose Russo, head of the Teachers' Association of Lindenhurst, said after the meeting that the union continues to negotiate toward an agreement. She criticized what she said has been a negative perception of teachers. "Everybody has to come together. We have a common goal of educating our children, and we can't have opposing sides."
The next budget meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at the McKenna building. It will focus on buildings and grounds, special education and transportation.
_________________________
www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/supe-lindenhurst-schools-can-top-tax-cap-1.3581021
Supe: Lindenhurst schools can top tax cap
Published: March 5, 2012 9:11 PM
By DENISE M. BONILLA denise.bonilla@newsday.com
The Lindenhurst Union Free School District can raise the tax levy by more than 2 percent and remain within the state's property tax cap, officials announced last week.
School officials delivered the news at the first of several budget workshops planned for this month, at the McKenna Administration Building.
Superintendent Richard Nathan said the district could increase taxes by 3.57 percent in the 2012-13 budget due to exemptions, including a portion of the district's increased pension costs.
The district's announcement came as school districts across Long Island wrestle with budgets amid the new 2-percent property tax cap.
The board said the budget was not complete and it could not say where the tax levy might land. However, several board members, and Nathan, said they do not want to pierce the tax cap.
"We need to make the tax cap a reality, not a calamity," Nathan told the several dozen residents at Wednesday's meeting, many of whom implored the board to keep the levy low.
Last year, Lindenhurst residents approved a $140 million budget with a 6.89-percent tax levy increase.
If the tax levy in the new budget exceeds the cap, Nathan said, at least 60 percent of voters would have to approve. Last year's budget was approved 2,154 to 2,026, or 51.5 percent of the vote.
"Clearly it would be a very difficult thing to do in Lindenhurst," Nathan said. "We're not going to come out with another 7 percent, I'll tell you that."
The superintendent noted that the district is negotiating with its six bargaining units, including teachers, whose contract expired in June. He said officials are frustrated by the Triborough Amendment, which allows public employees to collect annual "steps" in their contracts even after the contracts expire.
"In my opinion, there isn't the motivation to bargain," Nathan said, adding, "I'm not faulting anything other than the law."
Rose Russo, head of the Teachers' Association of Lindenhurst, said after the meeting that the union continues to negotiate toward an agreement. She criticized what she said has been a negative perception of teachers. "Everybody has to come together. We have a common goal of educating our children, and we can't have opposing sides."
The next budget meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at the McKenna building. It will focus on buildings and grounds, special education and transportation.
