Mattituck-Cutchogue School Budget Sails Through

MATTITUCK, NY — After the absentee ballots were counted, the Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School District's budget passed with ease.

The budget passed by a vote of 1,660 to 754.

Voters also green-lighted two propositions: The first would grants authorization to expend $650,000 from the capital reserve fund to pay for a new boiler at Cutchogue West, a new roof at Cutchogue East, and a multipurpose room renovation at Mattituck-Cutchogue Jr./Sr. High School. That measure passed 1,895 to 517.

The second proposition asked voters to authorize establishment of a repair reserve fund, that would be funded over time and used to pay for repairs and renovations; the repair reserve fund can be funded up to $750,000 from annual budgetary appropriation and/or monies remaining in the general fund, the district said. Voters passed that proposition by a vote of 1,646 to 752.

Three candidates, including incumbent Brian Mealy, Patricia Arslanian and Mary Lynn Hoeg ran for two open seats on the Board of Education. Arslanian and Hoeg won the race; Arslanian with 1,461 votes and Hoeg, with 1,451. Mealy received 1,381 votes.

“The board of education and administration wish to thank all those who voted,” Superintendent of Schools Jill Gierasch said. “We are grateful for your continued support. Together, we will continue to provide our students with the quality education and services they need to be successful in the future.”

The district's $41,418,100 budget reflects a 1.55 percent change and a 1.75 percent tax levy increase, "significantly lower" than the tax levy cap of 2.29 percent, the district said.

"This proposed budget maintains all current programs and student offerings. It provides numerous enhancements, including new coursework at the high school level, updated math materials aligned to the Next Generation Learning Standards for grades 5 to 8, and advancing K-12 STEAM education. In addition, we have included extracurricular activities and a unified sports program for our most challenged students, and security upgrades to ensure the safety of our students and staff. Thanks to the ongoing success of partnerships established within our community, we will continue to preserve and promote future life-readiness experiences for our students through internships and civic-minded educational experiences," the district said.