BOE Recap: If Budget Passes, Homeowners' School Taxes to Increase by $120

If the proposed 2012-13 budget is passed by voters on May 15, schools officials said the average Rockville Centre homeowner's school taxes will increase by $120.

Robert Bartels, assistant superintendent of finance, said the average home in Rockville Centre is $532,000, which is a seven percent decrease from last year. He explained that if a resident's home value did not decrease by seven percent on their assessment from 2011-12 to 2012-13, their school taxes could increase by more than $120.

Bartels explained the proposed 2012-13 budget contains a 1.99 percent tax levy increase and a budget increase of 1.67 percent over the current fiscal plan. The 1.99 percent tax levy increase keeps the district under the new two percent tax cap, which means it would need 50 percent of voters to approve it. Under the new tax cap law, if the budget is defeated twice, the district must adopt a contingency budget with a zero percent increase.

The district will receive $198,000 more in state aid than what was projected for the current school year, Bartels said. He suggested, however, not altering the fiscal plan because in the past the state has taken funds back midway through the school year. He added that state aid projections are based off district expenditures from the current school year. If the district doesn't spend the money its projected to spend, Bartels said, it won't get all the state aid money.

2012-13 District Calendar

Superintendent of Schools Dr. William Johnson said since the Regents exam schedule will remain the same, the school year will end on June 21. He explained that part of the agreement with the Teachers' Association during contract renegotiations was that the district would go from 184 work days to 181.

Johnson said that teachers will return to work on Sept. 4 instead of Sept. 5, and students would also return on Sept. 5. A superintendent's conference scheduled for Nov. 6 (Election Day) would be cancelled, he said, giving teachers and students off. May 24 would also be added as a holiday for teachers, giving them a four-day weekend.

Johnson noted that if there's snow days, the district would look at taking days from the March vacation, which he said is a common practice.

The final 2012-13 budget hearing will be on April 17. That is the last time adjustments can be made to the proposed fiscal plan.