School Board approves school construction plan, finalizes tax rate in Eastport South Manor

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Eastport South Manor School Board officials set the tax levy and finalized construction plans on October 21. From left, board members Kenneth Cooke, Vice President Arthur Abbate and President Vincent Sweeney.
Photos by Rohma Abbas

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After several months of deliberations and tweaking, Eastport South Manor Board of Education members this week approved a $60.8 million school construction plan that includes a new elementary school building at Eastport Elementary School.

Spending for the new construction, which will primarily be covered by New York State aid, will be put up for a public vote in December.

At the same meeting, held on Wednesday, October 21, the board set its tax levy for the 2009-10 school year, which will now include a 9.86-percent increase in taxes for Southampton Town residents and a 4.16-percent increase in taxes for Brookhaven Town residents, according to Assistant Superintendent for Business Richard Snyder.

In May, when taxpayers approved the $77.8 million school budget, district administrators projected that the tax rate in Southampton Town would climb by only some 3.97 percent, from $14.37 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $14.94 per $1,000. The new tax rate for Southampton Town taxpayers is $15.79 per $1,000, officials announced this week.

Mr. Snyder said the sharp jump in taxes for Southampton Town homeowners was due to a change in New York State equalization rates. State officials set equalization rates to determine how the district’s overall tax levy is divided among multiple townships. The school district includes homes in Brookhaven and Southampton, and a single home in Riverhead Town.

Because of market value increases in Southampton this year, from $315 million to almost $316 million, residents living in that town are responsible for about $461,000 more of the district’s spending than was originally anticipated, Mr. Snyder said. Conversely, the assessments in Brookhaven, which uses a different assessment formula, were down this year, from $18.3 million to $18 million.

In Southampton Town, which comprises about 10 percent of the school district, the tax rate will increase to $15.79 per $1,000. Therefore, homeowners with property assessed at $400,000 will pay $6,315 in school taxes this year, up about $567 from last year, according to Mr. Snyder.

The average Brookhaven Town homeowner with a home assessed at $3,500 will see a tax bill this year of about $7,177, or about $286 more than last year, he said. Mr. Snyder said there was a slight increase in the tax rate for the single property in Riverhead Town.

The proposed new construction project, meanwhile, would add storage space and classrooms throughout the district, at the South Street, Dayton Avenue and Eastport elementary schools. The improvements also include a new kindergarten through second grade school building at Eastport Elementary School.

The construction is designed to take advantage of increased state aid that was a result of the merger of the Eastport and South Manor school districts in 2003. Currently, as the project stands, the state is expected to fund 90 percent—or about $55 million— of the project, leaving the district to pay for slightly more than $6 million.

District officials are still working to drive that number down prior to the vote in December, Mr. Snyder said.

“The local share is just over $6 million,” Mr. Snyder said, addressing the board members last Wednesday, October 21. “That’s a number we’re working on getting a little bit better.”

The district hopes to offset the local cost of the plan—about $430,000 per year for 15 to 18 years—with savings that are expected to result from a new energy efficiency contract, Mr. Snyder said.

The board this week authorized the district entering into the $13.1 million contract with Atlantic Energy Solutions of Saratoga Springs. The contract calls for the installation of new green equipment at the schools, including cogeneration technology, solar power and better boilers.

The project is expected to save the district about $760,000 per year for 18 years, Mr. Snyder said, which would offset the construction costs.

School Board members said they were in favor of the plan.

“This could actually be advertised to the public at zero tax impact?” Board President Vincent Sweeney asked Mr. Snyder.

Mr. Snyder assured the board it was possible.

“Like I said, the time of it is perfect,” Mr. Snyder said. “One will just offset the other.”