Oysterponds BOE holds budget public hearing tonight
The Oysterponds school board will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. tonight at the elementary school in Orient to discuss next week’s budget revote.
The school board has again proposed a $5.35 million budget for the 2012-13 school year, with spending down 4.85 percent from the current school year. The spending plan is the same as the proposal that was shot down May 15 by 57 percent of voters. The district saw 253 Orient and East Marion residents vote no and 192 vote yes in May.
During a special meeting last month, the board said it believed the option of secondary school choice caused voters to reject its spending plan.
The Oysterponds district, which operates a K-6 school for Orient and East Marion students, currently sends its secondary students to neighboring Greenport. In March, Oysterponds designated both Greenport and Mattituck as secondary school districts.
The board has since voted unanimously to end its contract negotiations with the Mattituck-Cutchogue district in hopes of passing the budget.
The revote will take place June 19 at the school’s gym from 3 to 9 p.m.
Pick up Thursday’s paper to read more about the meeting.
