School budget vote: Most LI budgets approved, but at least 5 fail

At least five Long Island school budget proposals failed to garner enough voter support Tuesday while 115 others won approval, according to early returns Tuesday night.

Results for the remaining four districts were still pending by midnight.

Three Village and Locust Valley failed to win a simple majority, meaning more than 50% of voter support Tuesday. The outcome was 2,051-2,340 in Three Village and 765-850 in Locust Valley.

The budgets in Bayport-Blue Point, Islip and South Country also failed. The districts were three of seven on Long Island seeking a tax cap override, meaning they needed a 60% supermajority to pass.

Voters in South Country overwhelmingly rejected the district's proposal, with 2,747 voting against it and 1,105 for it.

Board members in a statement Tuesday night said they acknowledged the message voters sent through the vote outcome and will determine whether to present a revised budget next month or adopt a contingency budget.

A district whose budget failed on Tuesday will have a second chance for a revote on June 16. The district could present voters with another spending plan, or the same proposal. If voters again reject the budget, the district must adopt a contingency budget, which freezes the tax levy. The district could also go straight to a contingency budget after the first fail.

The vote was 679 for and 568 against in Bayport-Blue Point.

Superintendent Timothy Hearney said the district was disappointed with the result but thanked voters for their participation.

“District administration and the Board of Education will be meeting in the days ahead to evaluate next steps,” his statement read. “We remain committed to providing high-quality educational opportunities while maintaining fiscal responsibility.”

In Islip, 859 voters rejected the budget while 639 others approved it. School officials could not be reached for comment.

Voters greenlit the proposals in Lynbrook, Greenport, Shelter Island and Uniondale, which had also sought to pierce their tax caps. The vote in Uniondale was 718-451.

With a result of 398-153, Greenport had a 72% passage rate.

Greenport Superintendent Beth Doyle thanked voters in a statement Tuesday night: “This budget allows us to continue supporting our students while taking important steps toward long-term fiscal stability.”

Lynbrook’s budget passed with a vote of 924-345.

Superintendent Paul Lynch said in a statement the spending plan “ensures a fiscally responsible expansion of student opportunities within the district.”

Shelter Island’s budget was approved by a vote of 549-256. Voters last year rejected Shelter Island tax cap override request but approved it this year with a 68% passage rate.

“We deeply appreciate the trust placed in the District as we work to balance fiscal responsibility with maintaining the high-quality educational opportunities our students deserve,” Superintendent Brian Doelger said in a statement.

South Country voters weigh in 

Voters Newsday spoke to Tuesday appeared split over whether to approve South Country’s budget proposal, which would have come with a 13.45% levy hike. The Suffolk district is amidst a fiscal crisis marred by mismanagement and overspending.

Voters steadily flowed in and out of Bellport Middle School in the afternoon. For some, the choice between a high levy increase and potential program cuts was a difficult one. For others, it was clear.

With one child in the district and another who recently graduated, Jennifer Wierzbowski, 50, lamented that her son might see programs cut and teachers let go during his final two years of high school but said she could not support the budget.

“I'm trying to keep positive for these kids,” she said. “But what's been handed to us is a no go for me.”

The mother said she’s lost trust in the district’s leadership and is eyeing a change.

“I’m hoping that we could come to some kind of [a] compromise, something brought to the table that we can all agree on,” she said of the budget. “I know it's not going to be perfect. But let's move in the right direction here.”

Other South Country voters also called for leadership change, saying they have lost confidence in the school officials who proposed the budget they were voting on.

Some voters, however, said they wanted to support core programs.

Audrey Collins, 44, said the district’s financial mismanagement has been disappointing but with a son entering high school, she would like to see the programs continued.

“I don't know what it looks like if we go on austerity,” said Collins, who moved to the district from Astoria, Queens, last year.

A contingency budget would force the district to make deeper cuts than it already has made. The district cut dozens of staff last year and has proposed to lose 60 additional positions. Officials also reduced spending elsewhere.

Longtime resident Clarice Porter, a mother of two attending district schools, said she would want to see programs like AP courses preserved. District officials previously said AP offerings, among other programs, could be eliminated if the district had to cut millions more in spending.

“Some of us have children in the district and we are thinking about our children,” said Porter, 52.

'Have to bite the bullet'

At Grand Avenue Elementary School in Baldwin, which is part of the Uniondale district, voters Newsday spoke to Tuesday all supported the budget.

The Nassau district proposed a 2% levy increase, which exceeds its -0.4% cap.

"It's super important for the budget to pass,” said Audrey Lee, 70, from Baldwin, whose two adult sons attended Uniondale schools.

Lee, whose 11-year-old grandson attends the school’s afterschool program, said she does not want to see cuts to any programs and is not worried about the tax increase.

"If that's the case, then we just have to bite the bullet," Lee said. “What I'm more concerned about is the education and the level of assistance that we get from the school.”

Kerry Pinkerton, 43, of Hempstead, said her 7-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter also benefited from Grand Avenue’s afterschool program.

“Super helpful for a working mom,” she said. "We've had a great experience here. So I'm definitely hoping that it [the budget] gets approved and we can keep it."

Janine Bradley, an assistant principal at Uniondale High School who lives in Hempstead, said she hopes people understand that a tax increase will help the district maintain services and programming.

"When the budget doesn't pass, it's the children that are hurt because programs have to be cut,” she said.

The administrator noted the state is not providing Uniondale the same level of funding as it has in the past. The district also faces declining enrollment due to families choosing charter or private schools, she said.

In past years, Uniondale had received sizable state aid increases. In 2024-25, the district received nearly $5 million more in state aid compared with the year before. Then in 2025-26, it saw a $9.6 million bump in aid.

Under the budget proposal advanced by Gov. Kathy Hochul in January, Uniondale was set to receive the minimum 1% increase in foundation aid, which translates to about $900,000, according to district figures.

"After COVID, we were hit very hard with increases in costs,” Bradley said. “We had some construction that was halted. Things that couldn't go forward... So we've been doing everything that we can to stay afloat."

Voters on Tuesday also weighed in on about 90 propositions, mostly for capital projects to improve school facilities. A total of 358 candidates were also running to fill 257 school board vacancies. Fewer than half the districts — 51 — had contested races.

This year’s budget season was marked by widespread cuts. A Newsday analysis found a third of the spending proposals called for reductions in staffing or programs. Officials have cited rising costs — in some areas double-digit spikes — among reasons for the cuts. Only a few said they would add programs or jobs.