East Islip board raises income threshold for senior, disability school property tax exemptions to $40,000

The East Islip Union Free School District Board of Education voted to raise the income threshold for school real‑property tax exemptions for seniors and for limited‑income persons with disabilities from $29,000 to $40,000, with a sliding scale that phases benefits up to roughly $48,400. Board members approved the change at the public meeting following a presentation by a district presenter on real property tax law changes.

The change expands eligibility for the district’s 50% assessed‑value reduction for qualifying households aged 65 and over and for qualifying disabled persons, and the board’s presenter said it would apply to the 2025–26 tax year. District staff told the board the estimated net shift in cost to other taxpayers from raising the threshold to $40,000 would be “less than $83 on an annual basis.”

Why it matters: the exemption reduces the assessed value used to calculate only the school district portion of the property tax bill; the district receives the full levy authorized by the Board of Education, so enlarging exemptions shifts the distribution of that levy to taxpayers who do not qualify. The district…