School Vote May 20th

by Kathy Savolt -

School taxes comprise more than 50% of our property tax bills and on May 20th we get to have our say.  School budgets and School Board candidates are on the ballot in both the Mamaroneck and Rye Neck School districts.

Mamaroneck Union Free School District

The District has published two summaries of the proposed budget (See HERE and HERE).  

The total proposed budget is $169,191,992 which is a 6.27% increase over the current budget and over the tax cap.  Even though the budget increase is over 6%, the tax levy increase is lower at 4.98%.  The District relies on property taxes for 88% of the budget.  The remainder comes from State and Federal Aid and “other” sources.

Because of the rising property values, the overall assessment of properties in the District has risen and the District calculates that the actual tax rate per $1000 of assessed value will decrease from the current $12.63 per thousand to $12.44.  To calculate your tax impact, divide your latest assessment by 1,000 and multiply the result by $12.44.

Also on the ballot this year is a proposition to establish a Capital Reserve Fund that the District describes as a “fiscally responsible step to support essential infrastructure projects without placing additional strain on future budgets.”  This fund will be established with transfers from the existing fund balance ($2 million), transfer from the districts tax certiorari reserve* (up to $7 million) and contributions of up to $2 million per year, not to exceed $20 million over 35 years.

*Tax certiorari payments are paid when a property owner challenges their assessment and wins.  This often results in refunds of past tax payments.  With the District now at full valuation, the number of certioraris has dropped resulting in this proposed transfer.

Two candidates are running for School Board: Athena Belsito-Maikish and Stacy D’Arcy.  There are two vacancies.

Voting takes place at your local elementary school; polls are open from 7 AM to 9 PM.

All the details can be found HERE.

Rye Neck Union Free School District

The District has proposed a budget of $52,548,411, a 2.78% increase over the current year.  The overall tax levy increase is 2.37%, just at the tax cap.  The District is touting their ability to be at or under the cap for 14 consecutive years.  Property taxes account for just under 85% of the revenue, with State Aid at 10% and other sources totaling about 5%, including a transfer of $575,000 from the District’s reserve fund.

With the District split between the Rye Neck portion of the Village of Mamaroneck (actually part of the Town of Rye) and City of Rye, the tax levy is calculated for each separately based on property values.  Residents of the Rye Neck portion of the Village will see a tax levy decrease of 0.08% while the residents of Rye will see an increase of 2.3%.  Calculate your taxes HERE.

Three candidates are vying for two open seats on the School Board.  They are Ruth Homberg, Alex Rainert and Elizabeth Yong (incumbent).

Voting takes place in the Middle/High School Community Room from 7 AM to 9 PM.