Oysterponds-Greenport schools secondary contract vote postponed
The Oysterponds School District announced Monday that a public referendum scheduled for Sept. 4 to approve a five-year secondary school contract with Greenport has been postponed.
Greenport Board of Education president Heather Wolf said although both school boards have agreed to the contract in principle, the vote is being delayed because the legality of the contract is still being finalized.
“It really is simply a quest to make it as airtight as possible,” she said. “We are both trying to work on a contract that holds water and is equitable to both communities.”
The Oysterponds School District runs a preschool through sixth-grade program for East Marion and Orient residents. The elementary school district sends its secondary students to nearby Greenport schools.
Secondary school tuition is currently determined by the Seneca Falls rate, a state formula that establishes the highest tuition rate a district can charge for nonresident students.
Ms. Wolf said there hasn’t been any discussions to use the Seneca Falls rate to determine tuition for the 2012-2013 school year because both boards are committed to striking a five-year deal in order to continue its long-running agreement, in which East Marion and Orient students move to Greenport for grades 7-12.
As both school boards finalize an agreement, Ms. Wolf said Oysterponds secondary students will continue to attend school at Greenport.
A new date for the public referendum will be announced once a deal is reached.
Subscribers can read more about this story on August 30 in The Suffolk Times or on our E-Paper.
