School budget re-votes: What happened in East Ramapo, Elmsford, Blind Brook
Blind Brook's attempt to bust its property tax cap paid off. So did East Ramapo's hope to avoid getting stuck again operating under a contingency budget.
Elmsford, though, failed to win voter support for its second spending proposal for the 2023-24 academic year.
In New York, school districts get two shots at passing a spending plan. If both fail, districts have to operate under a contingency budget, which freezes the tax levy at this year's level and restricts spending in areas like building repairs and equipment purchases.
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The results announced Tuesday night were unofficial.
Big 'yes' in East Ramapo school budget re-vote
More than 78% of the 2,545 East Ramapo residents who voted Tuesday said yes to a $295.6 million budget plan that holds the property tax levy to 0%.
Board member Harry Grossman said, "I think it's proven that when you present a budget that takes into account the needs of public schoolchildren and the need of the taxpayers, the budget passes overwhelmingly."
Voters on May 16 rejected a $298.7 million budget plan with a 1.99% tax levy increase by 45 votes.
East Ramapo knows well the strictures of a contingency budget; the district operated under such a plan several times in recent years, including this academic year.
State-appointed monitors in the district have warned that within five years, East Ramapo could be facing a deficit of more than $44 million. A recent building survey, discussed at Tuesday's meeting, showed dire conditions in every district-owned building.
About 10,500 students attend East Ramapo's 13 public schools; another 33,000 kids who live in the district attend private schools, mostly yeshivas that serve the Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish community.
Blind Brook busts cap
This round, Blind Brook's plan to pierce its state-mandated tax levy cap worked: About 72% of the more than 2,000 who voted Tuesday said yes to a $57.08 million budget plan that increased the tax levy by 8.71%.
A supermajority of 60% was needed to pass a tax-cap-busting budget. On May 18, some 55% approved a $58 million spending plan that carried a 10.85% tax levy hike, so that plan failed.
This district educates about 1,275 students in its three schools.
District officials have said past modest budget increases led to the need for this year's significant bump; they also cited increased insurance and special education costs.
Elmsford voters say no again
The budget proposal and a redrafted proposition again failed in Elmsford, making it the only district in the Lower Hudson Valley to have a contingency budget kick in for 2023-24.
More than 63% of the 500 who voted rejected a revised $42.6 million budget with a 2.58% tax levy hike. Nearly 60% said no to a proposition to tap $1 million from capital reserves for paving and building improvements at various schools.
Voters in May rejected both a $43.37 million budget plan with a 5.48% tax levy increase and a proposition to increase the capital reserve fund from $5 million to $25 million.
About 945 students attended the district’s three schools for the 2021-2022 academic year, according to state data.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: East Ramapo, Elmsford, Blind Brook school districts vote on budgets
