Three Village schools voters reject bond proposals totaling $123M

Three Village Central School District voters rejected two bond proposals Tuesday that totaled $123 million for projects largely aimed at renovating and repairing school buildings across the district.

More than 2,000 voters went to the polls at Ward Melville High School in East Setauket. A preliminary total indicated Proposition 1 failed by a vote of 1,379 to 992, while residents rejected Proposition 2 by a count of 1,498 to 828, district spokesperson Denise Nash told Newsday via email. The final vote will be certified during Wednesday evening's school board meeting, she added.

District officials were not available for comment regarding the rejected propositions Tuesday evening.

The two propositions included a $96 million proposal that sought to address "more urgent" needs of the district, such as structural repairs, boiler replacements and paving projects throughout school facilities, officials said. The second proposal, for $27 million, focused on projects deemed "less urgent," such as ceiling work, auditorium repairs and the renovation of the Ward Melville High School football field.

District officials said a bond committee of residents, administrators and other  stakeholders recommended the projects after spending 18 months touring district facilities and meeting on a regular basis.

"We have families in this community that are here for a long time with young children," Superintendent Kevin Scanlon said in an interview ahead of the vote. "We want the buildings to be around for a long time. If we have to close a building because it’s an unsafe environment, that would be a travesty. We need to make sure all the buildings are in good shape, so they can be occupied at all times." 

The district currently enrolls 5,494 students throughout nine district schools.

How would property taxes have been affected?

If voters had approved both propositions, the average homeowner would have paid an additional $250 annually in property taxes, school officials said. If only the first proposition was approved, the average increase would have been $195 a year.

The second proposition could pass only if the first one was approved.

School officials said the district is set to pay off bonds from 2007 and 2014 in 2030 and 2032, respectively. Paying off this debt would result in a tax levy decrease of $4.6 million in 2030 and then $1.5 million two years later, officials said.

What projects were included in the propositions?

High-ticket items that would have been covered under the first proposition included $4.1 million to add locker rooms in the concession stand building at Ward Melville High, and $2.3 million to replace bleachers at the stadium. About $2.8 million would have gone toward roof repairs at R.C. Murphy Middle School; another $2.5 million would have been used for pavement work at the middle school.

Proposition 2 included nearly $5 million for pavement work at the high school, $1.8 million to replace the stadium field with synthetic turf and $1.6 million for bathroom renovations at P.J. Gelinas Middle School.

What happens now that the propositions have been voted down?

Some of the projects will need to be paid for through the annual budget, according to Scanlon.

School officials estimated the projects will add between $10 million to $12 million to the budget, which they said could cost the average taxpayer as much as $400 more in annual taxes. Scanlon said capital projects are outside of the cap on school tax levy increases.

If the propositions had been approved, officials said, the state would have reimbursed 66% of the cost and interest of the project through building aid over 15 years.

"Any one of us that owns a home knows that if you deal with something ahead of time before it’s a crisis, you’re going to be able to manage the finances of it much more efficiently then if you wait for something terrible to happen," school board president Susan Megroz Rosenzweig said in a video posted on the district website.