Mattituck schools to make cuts to fit under property tax cap
Mattituck-Cutchogue School District Superintendent James McKenna is warning that the district will need to make cuts across the board when it begins the budgeting process in January.
Mr. McKenna told attendees at the district’s Nov. 17 School Board meeting that school spending can only increase .1 percent over last year’s $37,363,239 budget in order to meet the new state-mandated 2 percent tax levy cap.
Last year, the district was able to appropriate $1.24 million from its fund balance in order to keep the tax increase to just 2.06 percent, he said, but the district can only afford to take $700,000 out of its reserve funds this year.
“The only way to possibly do this is to really slash and burn,” he said. “You’d literally start taking the bricks out of the building to make that happen.”
Mr. McKenna said the district is facing a 4 percent tax levy increase in order to maintain its current services.
REVOTE ON CSEA CONTRACT
The nearly 100 non-teaching employees at Mattituck schools who are members of the district’s Civil Service Employee Association recently voted down a proposed four-year contract, but the union is planning to vote again in the upcoming weeks.
The School Board tabled a resolution to accept the contract at its Nov. 17 meeting, after board members learned just before the meeting of the union’s vote.
Union president Sam Strickland said Monday that he believes some union members may have gotten some bad information before the 39-37 vote. The union plans to hold an informational meeting before putting the contract up for another vote.
