Education

2014 voters’ guide for North Fork school districts

Greenport school budget workshop scheduled for April 3, 2013

GREENPORT
Budget: $16.39 million
Estimated tax levy increase: 2.63 percent

The Greenport School District’s proposed budget comes in exactly $1 under the state’s cap for allowable tax levy increases.

Superintendent Michael Comanda has said the spending plan includes an estimated increase of 2.63 percent to the levy.

The budget’s increase of $887,492 over the current school year maintains programming and services, he said.

A new pre-kindergarten program with two classes of 18 children each for next school year is also included in the spending plan. The $180,000 cost includes hiring a teacher and teacher’s aide for each class, he said.

The budget also includes refurbishing the cafeteria and small gym area, rebuilding the elevator and replacing the fence on Moore’s Lane, according to the superintendent’s budget presentation.

The district plans to use $450,000 from its fund balance to offset expenses, after using about $350,000 this school year.

Mr. Comanda has also said “strategic” cost-saving measures such as freezing salaries and sharing services with the Southold School District — combined with the use of reserve funds and additional state aid — have allowed the district to keep its budget “lean.”

“This is the lowest (tax levy increase) in the past four years,” Mr. Comanda said. “The number one priority was to get under the allowable cap.”