Community Corner

N. Babylon School Budget Passes

Supermajority vote gives green light to $112 million budget.

The reaction at Marion G. Vedder Elementary School as the budget results were announced.

North Babylon residents approved a $112 million school budget during Tuesday's revote. 

The budget passed with 64 percent of the vote (2,369-1,334). 

The budget, with a 3.4 percent hike in the school tax levy, pierces the state's tax cap and required a 60 percent supermajority vote to pass. 

"I am absolutely elated that the community came together and did the right thing for the kids of North Babylon," school board president Janet Meyerson said after the votes were tallied at Marion G. Vedder Elementary School shortly after 9 p.m. 

The same budget proposal failed during the original vote last month, but budget supporters rallied the community over the last few weeks and turnout Tuesday was nearly 50 percent higher than the May vote. 

A second failed budget would have triggered $4.1 million in cuts, including all sports and extracurricular activities in the district. The board had the option to cut $625,000 from the original budget to bring it within the tax cap and thus require only a simple majority to pass this time around, but residents packed into North Babylon High's Little Theater last month and urged the board to put the same budget back up for a revote. 

Board trustee Barbara Leun had been on the fence before ultimately deciding to vote with the 4-2 majority of the board on May 28 to put the original budget back up. 

"I am so relieved," Leun said Tuesday night. "My prayers were answered and the community really came through. They said give us this budget and we will pass it and they did." 

More than 1,000 more people voted yes for the budget on Tuesday than during last month's vote. 

Board vice president Sal Levanti was never on the fence and said he didn't believe it was a risk attempting to pierce the tax cap once again. 

"Everybody knew what was going to be sacrificed," Levanti said if the budget failed once more, "and it's our children. Our children are the most important thing to North Babylon." 

The approved budget, which will raise school taxes by $254 for the average North Babylon homeowner, includes funding for four new elementary school teachers to help lower class sizes and it maintains security put in place after the Newtown shootings. The district will also purchase security cameras to be installed district-wide and complete several facilities improvement projects. 





Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here