Bridgehampton School Budget Passes

The Bridgehampton school budget passed during a re-vote Tuesday, with 62 percent voting in favor of the $12.3 million budget, according to Superintendent Dr. Lois Favre.  

Voter turnout for the re-vote was considerably higher than the original vote, with 240 voting in favor of the budget and 145 voting against it.

Favre launched a successful campaign to win support for the budget that she and the board presented on May 20, but which initially failed to pass with enough votes to attain a so-called "supermajority" of 60 percent or more as mandated by the state because it pierced the tax levy cap. During the initial vote, just 245 residents cast ballots, with just 54 percent voting in its favor (133 yes votes and 112 no votes.)

The 2014-15 school budget is a $1.1 million increase over the current budget of $11.2 million and surpasses the state’s mandated maximum increase, which for Bridgehampton would have been 3.8 percent, not the 9.93 percent in the now approved budget.