Nov 6, 2013 10:42 AM

Tuckahoe School Board members had little information to offer about 50 concerned parents at a meeting on Monday night, less than one week after a straw vote to fold the Tuckahoe School District into Southampton’s failed in Southampton.

With more unanswered questions raised—including where Tuckahoe students will attend high school next year, and whether a merger is still possible—administrators said many answers will not be available until January at the earliest, when tuition fees are finalized for several East End school districts that Tuckahoe students might attend.

At the moment, Tuckahoe Board President Bob Grisnik announced, the district is moving forward as if it will be open for business next year; he noted that there are some reserve funds available for the 2014-15 school year. The Tuckahoe district, he said, is exploring all of its options to keep the Tuckahoe School operating without cutting educational programs, including talking with several East End districts about lower tuition rates, as well as exploring a cheaper health care option for employees and a possible bond referendum.

At the same time, Tuckahoe officials still hope to continue talks with Southampton about a possible merger. According to Tuckahoe Superintendent Chris Dyer, the school district’s attorneys clarified over the weekend that the district does not have to wait any specified time to hold another vote, as was previously thought. If the vote had gone through to the second, final vote, and that had failed, the district would have had to wait one year before presenting it to the voters again.

However, because last week’s vote was a straw vote, both districts have the opportunity to modify the plan and bring it back to the taxpayers whenever they want. However, Mr. Dyer said it is unlikely that will happen in less than six months.

The district is also working with East End legislators, State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle and State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., to change state law to allow for different tax districts within one school district. That would allow the merger to go through with little to no impact on Southampton resident taxpayers.

“Tonight, we are here with sad hearts because of what happened last Tuesday night with the merger,” Mr. Grisnik said at the board meeting on Monday night. “We all know that for the betterment of the whole community a merger is the way to go. We got a bump in the road, but now we are going to continue forward—we have a school year to prepare for.”

Last week, Southampton residents voted down the proposal, 1,075 to 693, which would have merged the Southampton and Tuckahoe school districts, effective July 1, 2014. In Tuckahoe, taxpayers overwhelmingly voted in favor of the proposition, 565 to 35—a moot point once their neighbors to the east rejected the proposition, as state law dictates that both would have to approve the measure separately in order for it to move forward to a joint vote of the two districts.

For now, district officials must move on under the assumption that Tuckahoe will still be a separate school district come September. The board will immediately begin working on an operating budget for the district.

On Monday, board member Daniel Crough said the district did save some money in the reserve fund in case the merger failed. He also said that while the district will be able to manage for next year, the 2015-16 year will not be as easy.

The district, according to Mr. Grisnik, has several options to save money moving forward. First, the board will review contractual payments to see where money can be saved, or what contracts can be eliminated. For months, the district has also mulled switching to a less expensive health insurance option that will still give teachers and staff the benefits they need, while saving the district money.

Another option, Mr. Grisnik said, would be a bond vote. The district, he said, may be forced to borrow money to save educational programs.

“We do not want to compromise on any of the educational programs that we have,” he said. “We feel we have a great program for all of our children here.”

The biggest hurdle for the district next year will be tuition payments. Administrators will have to find a way to save on tuition while continuing to educate high school-age students as they leave the eighth grade. Tuckahoe administrators have already begun talks with the Southampton, Hampton Bays and Westhampton school districts, and they plan to include Sag Harbor.

On Tuesday night, Southampton Superintendent Dr. Scott Farina announced that after the straw vote, the district offered Tuckahoe the same exclusivity deal as this year at the same rate, $19,300 for a general education student and $57,000 for a special education student, provided all of the Tuckahoe students attend Southampton next year.

While the schools may provide cheaper alternatives to Southampton, many parents on Monday night expressed concern about the process, saying they do not want their children attending Hampton Bays or Westhampton Beach because they want them to be a part of the Southampton community.

Even though the merger vote failed, Tuckahoe administrators are still hoping to move forward with the annexation and have made it clear that a merger is still the first choice. On Monday night, officials said the first step is a meeting with Southampton administrators to see if they are still interested.

On Tuesday, Dr. Farina announced that the board will still be working on more solid numbers for the merger proposal, noting that a proposed combined budget, if a vote were to pass, will be presented to the community before another vote is put to the taxpayers. That would give a more realistic base for the tax rate, district budget, and the tax levy.

The announcement was in response to multiple community members who said there was too much mis-information spread in the weeks before the vote. The community asked for the board to be more open, and give more information to the public if the merger is voted on again.

The proposition, he said, will be brought back to the taxpayers after legislators have a chance to try and change regulations to allow two tax areas in the school district.

Last week, Mr. Thiele said that although the merger is on hold right now, he and Mr. LaValle are still working to make it happen in the future. He said that in January, he and Mr. LaValle will be able to petition the state to eliminate any merger-related tax increase for Southampton voters, while still decreasing taxes for Tuckahoe residents.

“This is still just the beginning of the discussion,” he said. “We have the ability to work with our colleagues in Albany and the governor’s office wants to promote consolidation where it makes sense. I am hopeful we will have a receptive ear in Albany and can come up with options to make this, from a financial point of view, palatable for everybody now.”