News

A clean sweep as voters approve all North Fork school budgets

North Fork voters were in a yes mood on Tuesday as each of the five school budgets won approval by comfortable margins.
In all but two instances, incumbent school board members won new terms. In both Mattituck/Cutchogue and Oysterponds, sitting members were turned out.
Mattituck-Cutchogue voters approved a $36.54 million budget, 920 yes to 531 no. That will raise the property tax rate 3.43 percent.
In the race for two school board seats, Janique Nine was reelected with 913 votes and challenger Bill Gatz outsted incumbent Lynne Krauza. Mr. Gatz received 781 votes to 706 for Ms. Krauza
Southold voters endorsed that district’s $25.67 budget by a vote of  653 for to 350 against.
The 1.5 percent tax rate increase is the lowest in 13 years.
School board president Judi Fouchet, who was unchallenged, received 691 votes.
Voters also approved two additional propositions. The new capital reserve fund, to set aside surplus money for major projects, such as a new roof or boiler,  passed 643 to 339. Voter approval will still be needed to allocate any of the funds.
Also, Southold Free Library’s new $765,052 spending plan for next year passed 678 to 314.
Greenport School District voters gave a resounding “yes” to the
district’s $13.83 million budget for the next school year, approving
the package Tuesday 336 yes to 79 no.
The new spending plan will raise the property tax rate 4.5 percent.
In
the race for two school board seats, incumbents Tina Volinski and
Heather Wolf both won reelection. Ms. Volinski was the top vote-getter
with 308, followed by Ms. Wolf, the current board president, who
received 277 votes. Challengers Mike Reed finished out of the running
with 137 votes.
In the Oysterponds School District, which covers East Marion and Orient, the $5.5 million spending plan passed 222 to 109. The three school board seats up for a vote all will be filled by newcomers. Incumbent Carl Demarest, finished last in the four-way election, taking 180 votes. The new members will be Deborah Dumont, 233 votes, Thomas Gray, 232 and Dorothy-Dean Thomas, who finished with 227 votes.
Tiny New Suffolk  overwhelmingly approved a $788,704 budget, 73 to 5. The property tax rate, which is now only about a third of that charged in the area’s largest school districts, will rise 4.88 percent
School board member Joseph Polashock, who ran unopposed, received 71 votes. Tracy Palumbo garnered five votes as a write-in