Voter Turnout Varies Widely Among Local Districts

At Port Jefferson School District, the turnout was lower than normal while Comsewogue has seen a rush of people come in to vote.

Whether it was the rain or the fact that this year's budget vote was not as contentiously debated in the district as the one before, Port Jefferson has seen fewer voters turn out on Tuesday, according to Assistant Superintendent for Business Sean Leister.

At around 6 p.m. at , Leister said that he estimated voter turnout was about 200 off from last year but it was definitely more people coming out to vote than two or three years ago.

"People are more involved," he said.

He said that rain might be a factor in keeping residents home thought that it could pick up once people got home from work as voters trickled into the building. The sentiment was mixed with people saying that they were both for and against the budget.

One resident who only identified himself as John told Patch that he was voting no.

"They're cutting programs and salaries are staying the same," he said. "The teacher's rap is 'don't hurt the kids' but everyone gets hurt except for them. The taxpayers and the kids."

Another resident who did not want to be identified said that she was voting yes because she's a teacher on Long Island.

"It's very important to pass budgets," she said.

At , the polling room was packed with residents standing on line waiting to fill out their ballots. Some estimate that it could be a record turnout.

Christa Yamanita told Patch that she voted no to the Comsewogue budget for several reasons. She said she isn't able to afford her taxes because her home is assessed at twice the average in the district, making her share double of what the school estimates. She also said that the school is chosing to cut in the wrong areas.

"I am in favor of slashing a million plus dollars from the budget by eliminating sports and clubs and have private fundraisers to pay for those programs," Yamanita said. "I did bring this up several times but, it was never even considered as an option. It has been done successfully in other Long Island districts over the past several years."

Although Yamanita voted no on the budget she doesn't think . In the 0 percent budget she said that Kindergarten will be cut but sports will be preserved.

"To me that would be the ultimate slap in the face," she said.

On the other hand, Kathy Ciesla Dein said she voted for the budget.

"Voting no hurts the children," she said.

Dein is a single mother who doesn't have extra money in her budget for more school taxes but she defended her decision saying that reform needs to start in Albany by getting rid of unfunded mandates that are "choking our school system."

"I will be damned if the fools in Albany will ultimately cause programs to be taken away from my children," she said. "Someone supported my education, I am there to support my children's education, no matter how many jobs it takes and how many marches on Albany too."