The Sachem School District's 2013-14 budget passed on Tuesday night with a whopping 71.2% approval out of 12,141 votes. The total vote was 8,644 in favor to 3,497 opposed.
"We have a great community and great school district,” Sachem Superintendent James Nolan stated in a release. “During hard times it’s tough and I believe this is a loud statement that people still believe in our school community. This is a very loud and positive statement.”
This budget includes full-day kindergarten, and fully funded music and sports programs. However, it calls for a 50% reduction in support of co-curricular activities, the elimination of the GATE program and job losses to the tune of more than 100 teachers, loss of administrators and support staff.
The board's previous adopted budget aimed at raising taxes by 7.49%, but would have purportedly saved some of the jobs and programs left out of the this approved budget. But that original budget failed to net the 60% supermajority needed for approval, despite a high turnout of 12,588 voters. If Tuesday's tax cap budget, which yields a 3.14% tax levy, had failed, the district would have been forced by law to revert to a 0% tax increase and additional cuts would need to be made.
That concern is now over. On Sachem Patch's Facebook page, reactions were mixed, but mostly celebratory.
"Thank God!!! Thank the community!!! 'YES' was absolutely the right choice," stated one reader, while another reader was unhappy with the result.
"When does it end? This whole investing in the future of the community non sense is just that...nonsense... Every year it's more...we need more... Your all missing the point... When is enough enough? Are you willing to just agree year after year to increases?" he stated.
At Wednesday's Board of Education meeting the board will vote on the measures now in effect due to the budget's passing, most notably, signing off on the district's layoffs.
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