BOE Recap: Board Adopts 2012-13 Budget

The Rockville Centre Board of Education adopted its 2012-13 budget on Wednesday, a $97,260,488 fiscal plan that if passed on May 15 will increase the average Rockville Centre homeowners' school taxes by $120.

After some of the district's seven bargaining units  to help avoid layoffs and program cuts, school officials constructed a fiscal plan that stayed within the new two percent tax cap. The 2012-13 budget is a 1.67 percent increase over the current plan and contains a 1.99 tax levy increase. 

According to Robert Bartels, assistant superintendent of finance, the district offered retirement incentives and used some of its reserve funds in addition to the renegotiated contracts to stay under the cap.

Bartels said the $120 increase in school taxes is based on Nassau County's assessment of the average home in RVC, which is $532,000. He said that number is down seven percent from last year. Bartels explained that if a resident's home value declined by more than seven percent, they could see less than a $120 increase in school taxes. On the other hand, if it declined less than seven percent, they could see a higher increase.

To find out how much your home was assessed at, go to www.mynassauproperty.com.

Bartels added that the average tax increase is still tentative and an estimate because he has not received final assessments and adjusted base proportions from the county.

The 1.99 percent tax levy increase keeps the district under the new two percent tax cap, which means it needs 50 percent of voters to approve it. Under the new tax cap law, if the budget is defeated twice, the district must adopt a contingency budget with a zero percent increase.

Residents can vote on the 2012-13 budget on May 15 at South Side High School from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. To register to vote, residents can go to the administration building on weekdays between 8:15 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. 

Board member Mark Masin and Liz Dion are both running unopposed for their board seats.