Saturday, May 19, 2012
Of the five area school districts, one had a failing budget Tuesday.
School Board elections and budget votes were Tuesday, and after the smoke cleared, incumbents were safe in Sagaponack, Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor, two new members were elected in Southampton, and a former board member ousted a sitting member in Tuckahoe. Tuckahoe was also one of a handful of budgets on Long Island to be rejected by voters, while all other area school districts had their budgets pass comfortably. Catch up on how budgets fared and elections ended this week in eastern Southampton Town: Tuckahoe Voters Reject $17.8M Budget; Steudte Defeats Grindle The Tuckahoe School District's proposed $17.8 million budget failed, 228-275, on Tuesday, and former School Board member Harald Steudte ousted incumbent Sharon Grindle by an 8-vote…
Thursday, May 17, 2012
In light of the Tuckahoe budget proposal being shot down at the polls, Patch wants to know: Are you in favor of making the two school districts one?
After Tuesday's budget vote, when Tuckahoe School District residents rejected a $17.8 million spending plan and estimated tax rate increase of 9.54 percent, School Board members and districts officials have been left to mull how to best slash the budget in a way more palatable to voters. One idea to pursue to lower taxes for perpetuity is for the school district to give up its sovereignty and merge with the adjacent Southampton School District, which already serves most of Tuckahoe's high school-age students. The notion of a merger, which could result in significant tax savings for Tuckahoe residents, has been floated for years, but the districts have never taken the leap. Under state law, before a merger can take place both school …
40.888901
-72.373203
Southampton High School
141 Narrow Ln, Southampton, NY
/articles/merge-tuckahoe-southampton-school-districts
364962
/locations/7047331
40.897886
-72.416318
Tuckahoe School
468 Magee St, Southampton, NY
/articles/merge-tuckahoe-southampton-school-districts
365385
/locations/7047332
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
On espnW's "The Word" guests debate Southampton teen Keeling Pilaro's situation.
The debate over Keeling Pilaro, a Southampton eighth-grader who was granted permission Tuesday to play a third season of field hockey with the Lady Mariners varsity team, has gone national. When the decision, made on an appeal, was handed down Tuesday, newswires lighted up. And espnW's "The Word" had a debate over whether boys like Keeling should be permitted to play on traditionally girls' teams. Keeling started playing with the Southampton girls after his family moved back to the United States two years ago from Ireland, where boys learn field hockey in gym class. In Ireland, he belonged to his school's team and competed in a league. "I see it as a girls' sport," said Fox Chapel High School Field Hockey Coach Michele Fisher. "They work …
School Board will discuss Monday how to come up with a budget that voters will find acceptable.
Tuckahoe School Board members will meet this coming Monday to sharpen their pencils and work on a revised budget that will be more palatable to voters, after a proposed $17.8 million budget went down in defeat at the polls on Tuesday. Although the budget proposal adhered to the new state-mandated tax cap, a different element of the new law applies — if the budget is rejected a second time, the tax levy must remain flat year-over-year. The initial budget proposal called for a 1.99 percent increase in the tax levy, amounting to $314,485 that would have to be cut out. The school district will have a shot on June 19 to offer voters an amended budget. With a turnout of 503 voters this week, the initial budget proposal was rejected by 47 votes. …
40.897886
-72.416318
Tuckahoe School
468 Magee St, Southampton, NY
/articles/tuckahoe-budget-second-chance
365385
/locations/7033109
All propositions approved.
Southampton School District voters, by an overwhelming margin, approved a $59.5 million budget on Tuesday, 566-260, and elected two new School Board members. In a close race for two undefended School Board seats, Andrew Brindle was the top vote-getter with 370, and James Wilson was close behind with 366. Charles Styler had 348 votes, and write-in candidate Jacqueline Robinson garnered 140 votes. Brindle won a five-year term, replacing David Dubin, who declined to seek re-election. Wilson won a four-year term and was sworn in immediately after the School Board certified the results, filling a vacancy left when Amy Pierson stepped down from the board to take a job with the district. In addition to the budget, all other ballot propositions …
40.890592
-72.379068
Southampton Union Free School District
70 Leland Ln, Southampton, NY
/articles/southampton-budget-passes-overwhelmingly-brindle-wilson-earn-school-board-seats
364929
/locations/7030826
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Voters approve all propositions as well.
Budgets passed by outstanding margins in Bridgehampton and Sagaponack school districts on Tuesday, and all incumbents kept their seats. The proposed $10.7 million Bridgehampton budget was approved with 66.9 percent of the vote, 109-54. Bridgehampton voters also approved $125,000 in funding for the Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center, 109-53. Spending is slated to rise 1.1 percent and the tax levy is budgeted to go up 5.9 percent. Lillian Tyree-Johnson was the top vote-getter in the Bridgehampton School Board election, with 128. Douglas DeGoot was right behind with 122 votes and Ron White had 120 votes. Challenger Gabriela Braia was unable to unseat any of the three incumbents, garnering just 61 votes. In Sagaponack, the $1.6 …
40.93899
-72.29503
Bridgehampton School
2685 Montauk Hwy, Bridgehampton, NY
/articles/bridgehampton-sagaponack-budgets-pass-incumbents-re-elected
1780271
/locations/7029521
40.93041
-72.278796
Sagaponack School
400 Sagg Main St, Sagaponack, NY
/articles/bridgehampton-sagaponack-budgets-pass-incumbents-re-elected
1799504
/locations/7029522
Voters approved $34 million budget.
Over in Sag Harbor, voters approved a $34 million school budget on Tuesday. The final tally was 892-to-420 when the polls closed at 9 p.m. Gregg Schiavoni was re-elected to the Sag Harbor School Board of Education with 1,039 votes and past president Walter Wilcoxen also kept his seat with 795 votes. Challenger Tom Gleeson, a retired teacher and college admissions consultant, received 576 votes. There were two seats available, each with a three-year term. A proposition to allow the district to spend $575,000 to purchase six new buses also passed, 851-to-432. Business administrator Janet Verneuille said a total of 1,312 people came out to vote on Tuesday. Forty-nine submitted absentee ballots. The 2012-13 budget includes a 2.88 spending …
Proposition to expend funds replacing pipes also fails.
The Tuckahoe School District's proposed $17.8 million budget failed, 228-275, on Tuesday, and former School Board member Harald Steudte ousted incumbent Sharon Grindle by an 8-vote margin. Steudte received 220 votes to Grindle's 212. At least 71 voters abstained from deciding on a candidate. Under the proposed budget, the tax rate was projected to rise by 9.54 percent to $7.23 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. The tax rate increase was pushed up by a 4.91 percent dip of the total assessed value of properties in the district, meaning the impact on homeowners whose property values decreased would have been less than 9.54 percent. Inclusive of collected property taxes and STAR reimbursement from New York State, the tax levy was budgeted to …
40.897886
-72.416318
Tuckahoe School
468 Magee St, Southampton, NY
/articles/tuckahoe-budget-fails-steudte-elected
365385
/locations/7033434
Section XI allows Southampton's Keeling Pilaro a third season.
Suffolk County sports officials on Tuesday decided to let a local boy play field hockey on the Southampton girls team for at least one more season, despite earlier worries that his advanced skill diminished opportunities for female players. "I'm so excited that I can play with the team," said Southampton's Keeling Pilaro on Tuesday afternoon. "They're like my family." Section XI, the governing body for school sports in Suffolk, made the decision at a special meeting in Smithtown, after originally denying the eighth-grader the opportunity to play on the varsity team again this coming fall, a decision the Southampton School District appealed. The Pilaro family had promised they would sue Section XI if Keeling was told he couldn't play. “We …
Monday, May 14, 2012
How will you cast your ballot Tuesday in Southampton, Bridgehampton, Sagaponack, Tuckahoe or Sag Harbor?
How will you cast your ballot when you perform your civic duty Tuesday and vote on your school district budget? Help us get a sense of how budget proposals will fare by voting in Patch's poll first, below. Please only vote in your respective district. In Southampton School District, voters will consider a $59.5 million budget. Total spending will rise 1.74 percent while the tax levy will increase 2.48 percent The election will take place May 15 in the Southampton Intermediate School music room from 10 a.m to 9 p.m. In Tuckahoe, voters will consider a $17.8 million budget, representing a 4.40 percent spending increase. Inclusive of collected property taxes and STAR reimbursement from New York State, the tax levy is budgeted to increase 1.…
Kevin L.
9:15 am on Saturday, May 19, 2012
Let's put it to a vote. Tomorrow. more ›