ALBANY, N.Y. May 16, 2018 – Voters statewide showed their appreciation for local public schools by approving 98 percent of school budgets, according to a preliminary estimate by New York State United Teachers.
NYSUT President Andy Pallotta said, “New York State parents and community members are part of a larger national movement to support teachers and public education. They know that public schools are our best investment and they showed their love for their local schools by overwhelmingly approving school budgets statewide!”
Of the 562 school budgets votes reviewed by NYSUT, 550 budgets passed while just 12 went down to defeat. They were:
Eden Central School District, Erie County; Fort Edward Union Free School District, Washington County; Gowanda Central School District, Cattaraugus County; New Rochelle City School District, Westchester County; North Bellmore Union Free School District, Nassau County; Ripley Central School District, Chautauqua County; Stamford Central School District, Delaware County; Uniondale Union Free School District, Nassau County; Valley Central School District, Orange County; West Valley Central School, Cattaraugus County; Westfield Central School District, Chautauqua County; and Westport Central School District, Essex County. If the districts put an amended or the same proposal up for a revote, it will be on June 19.
The estimated 98 percent pass rate for school budgets continues the recent history of strong support for public schools by voters. Over the past three years, voters approved about 99 percent of school budgets. Pass rates in 2014 and 2013 were 98.2 percent and 95.3 percent, respectively. Thirteen school districts sought to override their tax cap with a 60 percent super-majority; approximately half of the defeats were in districts seeking to override the tax cap.
New York State United Teachers is a statewide union with more than 600,000 members in education, human services and health care. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.
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