New Building Improvement Fund on May 20 Ballot

Residents of the Huntington School District are being asked to authorize creation of a new Building Improvement Fund when they go to the polls on Tuesday, May 20. The new fund would replace a similar one that is set to expire soon.

Huntington School Board members approved placing a proposition on the May ballot during a public meeting on Tuesday night at Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School. Passage of the proposition will not increase taxes.

School officials are seeking permission to create the new fund for the purpose of completing district wide renovation and reconstruction projects. Establishing the fund will have no impact on taxes.

Use of successive Building Improvement Funds has allowed the Huntington School District to avoid the need for selling bonds and incurring debt service payments to update its facilities. The district will eliminate the last vestige of its long term debt at the end of June.

Huntington UFSD has one of the lowest levels of debt of any school system on Long Island. By avoiding bonding, taxes have been kept lower than they otherwise would have been.

As is the case for the current fund, existing budget monies would once again be used to capitalize the new fund. If in any given year the district spends less money than it had originally anticipated, these surplus monies could be transferred by the Huntington School Board into the new Building Improvement Fund.

Monies contained in the Building Improvement Fund can only be used for capital projects, such as school roofs, asbestos abatement, heating and ventilation projects, masonry work, windows, site work, facility improvements, etc. None of the monies can be used for general school district expenditures.

If the proposition is approved by residents, the district would be authorized to transfer surplus monies as may be available at the end of each fiscal year “for a probable term of 10 years in an ultimate amount of $15 million.” Residents would still have to give permission through a public vote before the district actually begins any project. The school district would be able to apply for state aid on any capital project it completes.

Residents can vote on the Building Improvement Fund proposition, along with a second capital proposition to release monies from the existing Building Improvement Fund along with the proposed 2025/26 budget and candidates for two Huntington School Board seats on Tuesday, May 20 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Huntington High School gymnasium.