Despite Budget Passage District Has Challenges Ahead

Despite a 2.86 percent property tax increase, Babylon Village residents came out in big support of the proposed school budget yesterday, approving the 2011-12 spending plan by a vote of 981 to 524—nearly a two-to-one margin.

“That has to be the widest margin in some time,” said Deputy Superintendent Peter Daly after poll officials announced the results at 9:20 p.m. at the Babylon Memorial Grade School.

The stormy weather and heavy rains kept voting traffic to a slow crawl  in the morning, with just several hundred residents casting ballots on the budget and board of education candidates. But the pace picked up near dinnertime, according to school district officials, and as 7 p.m. 1,260 residents had voted.

School officials were ecstatic about the budget success, with Superintendent Dr. Ellen Best-Laimit, who is leaving her post in August, saying it was “the best retirement gift ever.”

“God Bless this community and their commitment to their children’s education,” she said. “I’m just thrilled.”

Daly attributed the budget’s success to the district getting the message out that it’s the budget is fiscally stable spending plan.

“As I pointed out our tax levy ranks 31th in terms of lowest of 124 districts on Long Island,” he said.

Newly-elected school board members and even the two candidates who met defeat said they were happy about the budget approval. A few new board members said it will help propel needed changes in the district and help the district focus on critical issues such as replacing Best-Laimit and creating a long-term fiscal strategy.

Incumbent Roger Katz, who was returned to office and will complete the third year of former Board Vice President Cathy Vukovich’s vacated seat, said it was a positive sign.

“It’s all a matter of turnout and we had a good turnout,” said Katz, who has spent nine years on the board.

Vukovich resigned in late March amidst reports  her residency was under scrutiny. Katz is fulfilling the vacated seat as he received the least number of votes of the winning candidates. Current Board Trustee Judy Anderson and BOE President Henry Brunjes declined to run again.

The approved $46 million spending plan projects an estimated average tax bill increase of $232 for homeowners.

The budget offers the third lowest tax increase in 19 years, according to Daly, and the third lowest budget increase, 2.66 percent, in the same time frame.

Last year’s budget proposal passed with a 1,736 voter turnout and the year before met with voter approval with 1,382 votes cast.

If the budget had failed the board had three options: resubmit the same budget for a revote, submit a revised budget for a second vote or immediately implement a contingency budget that would cap the spending increases at 1.92 percent. To keep current programs and staff under a contingency budget would require an additional cut of $323,000.

“That would be difficult to do,” Daly had stated during public budget hearings earlier this year.

Moving forward, Daly said last night, the district has some challenges in keeping spend down in light of declining state aid and the proposed state cap.

“The strategy taken this year is sustainable for a year or two but there’s work ahead to keep on a good track,” he said.