Residents Vote Down Riverhead School District Budget For 2nd Time

RIVERHEAD, NY — A revote on the Riverhead Central School District's 2020 - 2021 budget failed Tuesday.

Residents voted down the budget 2,108 to 2,049.

“Our community has made its collective voices heard," said Interim Superintendent of Schools Christine Tona said. "While we are disappointed in the failure of our budget, mostly for our students and staff, we will continue to explore ways in which we can continue offering our students opportunities to succeed in a safe and healthy school environment."

The news left some angry. "Well, that’s that," a reader commented on Patch. "Taking my three very high achieving kids out of RHSD and sending them to Catholic school. Home up for sale as of tomorrow. The Riverhead school district will be taken over by New York State. I’m glad all the senior citizen complexes are going to destroy this great town. Well done!"

On Saturday, waving signs that said "Blue Waves" and "Vote Yes!" students rallied at the traffic circle, imploring residents to pass the Riverhead Central School District's 2020 to 2021 budget during an in-person revote Tuesday.

Students urged voters to say "yes" on the second go-round so that school sports, electives, arts and other programs will not be cut under a contingency budget.

After all the absentee ballots for the Riverhead Central School District's 2020-2021 vote were tallied, the budget failed for the first time in June.

With the budget voted down, for the 2020 to 2021 school year, the district will continue to operate under a $144,831,131 contingency budget that represents a 0.27 percent budget-to-budget increase, which was guided by education law, the district said.

The budget includes a freeze on equipment purchases and salary increases for individually contracted staff. The athletics program ($963,978), clubs, musical performances ($186,006) and after-school buses ($317,947) have been eliminated.

Other areas slashed include computer technology ($100,000), high school electives ($151,108), the science program ($135,122), the elementary literacy program ($148,459), and auto and building maintenance ($121,839), the district said.

The Riverhead Central School District's board of education adopted the contingency budget on the same day that Superintendent Dr. Aurelia Henriquez resigned, citing "irreconcilable differences."

When residents voted down the proposed 2020 to 2021 school budget, the Riverhead district was one of only three school districts on Long Island, including Uniondale and Valley Stream 13.

At the first vote residents were also asked to consider Proposition No. 2, which included no additional cost to taxpayers, the district said.

That proposition authorized the district to expend a sum not to exceed $469,470 from the cafeteria capital reserve fund to convert the dry goods storage room at the Pulaski Street Elementary School kitchen to a walk-in freezer; replace the serving lines at the Riverhead High School cafeteria, the Riverhead Middle School cafeteria, and the Pulaski Street Elementary School; and make improvements to the serving area entrances at the Pulaski Street Elementary School.

That proposition passed by a vote of 3,969 to 2,050.

In February, residents also said "no" to a $96.5 million bond resolution that would have funded repairs and renovations throughout the Riverhead Central School District.