Freeport USFD may raise tax levy for first time in years

The Freeport School District will likely have to raise its tax levy — after lowering it each of the past five years — because of an inadequate increase in state aid for education, district officials said.

The levy — the total amount the district must collect in taxes to meet expenses — could rise by as much as 3.5 percent in 2020-21, Beth Rella, the district’s assistant superintendent for business, said at the Feb. 26 Board of Education meeting.

The district is proposing a $191 million budget for next year. 

The state’s current proposed budget, which must be ratified by April 1, would increase total state aid by $826 million, a 3 percent increase, which is only half of what school districts had asked for, according to officials.  

“This would be the smallest increase in state aid schools have received since the 2013-14 school year,” Rella said. 

Freeport is expected to receive a $3 million increase in state aid, but its total expenses are set to rise $6.3 million, leaving a $3.3 million gap that must be made up through property taxes.    

By law, districts cannot raise their tax levies by more than roughly 2 percent — in the case of Freeport, it cannot be raised next school year by more than 1.81 percent — without a supermajority of voters agreeing to the increase in a referendum.

The district, however, is allowed to exceed that percentage because certain expenses are exempted from the law, so in reality, the district can increase its tax levy by 5.92 percent. Rella said, however, that the levy would not go up by more than 3.5 percent next year. 

Rella discussed the administrative and capital components of the district’s proposed budget, which are estimated at $20.3 million and $19.7 million, respectively. The 2020-21 budget, she noted, would add two assistant principal, nine teaching, one and a half teaching assistant, two coaching and two department coordinator positions. 

Transportation could also become a large expense, because the district is bidding for a new partner to handle its transportation. Adding to the district’s expenses are increases in contractual salaries and fringe benefits, and the cost of special education and BOCES programs.   

Schools Superintendent Kishore Kuncham said the district could better limit the tax-levy increase if it received the foundation aid it is owed. Foundation aid accounts for per-capita income in a district. Wealthier districts receive less foundation aid than districts with greater need, particularly those with less commercial property. Kuncham said that Freeport is owned a total of $342 million in foundation aid over the past decade.  

“Freeport is constantly being shortchanged,” Kuncham said, “and we’re not getting our fair share. We can’t afford to lose any more money.”  

Board Trustee Gabriela Castillo said she ran for the board to help ensure that the district receives the aid it deserves. She urged residents to contact state elected officials and call on them to provide more foundation aid to the district. 

“We need to ensure that our public schools are funded, because public education is one of the top civil rights issues of our time,” Castillo said. “It’s time that we, as a community, rally and push to advocate on these issues that will impact the security and equality of our children.”  

Rella said that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is also seeking to reduce expense-driven aid, which reimburses districts for expenses they accrue. “With the tax cap and foundation aid increases getting smaller and smaller, expense-driven aid was the thing we could control,” Rella said. If Cuomo “takes it away, we lose our ability to control our revenue.”  

The Board of Education will continue to hold budget meetings throughout March and April. 

With the budget, residents will also vote on the $2.5 million Capital Reserve Proposition No. 3, which would fund upcoming capital projects. Election Day is May 19.