Three of the four Suffolk County school districts that attempted to pierce the state tax cap last night failed. A 2011 law requires that schools in New York must get a supermajority of voters to approve a budget that hikes property taxes by more than 2%.
Only East Hampton was able to do that. Bridgehampton and West Babylon failed to get the required two-thirds of voters. And Sayville failed to get a simple majority.
The districts that failed must resubmit their budget and if they fail again, last year's budget will be enacted.
All other school districts in Suffolk approved their budgets last night. This was likely aided by what New York Governor Andrew Cuomo calls a "tax freeze." For any school or municipality that raises taxes by less than 2% the state will send rebate checks to those residents equivalent to the tax increase.