Connetquot board places $230.33 million budget on May ballot amid dispute over a reported $16.7 million gap

The Connetquot Central School District Board of Education voted April 28 to place its proposed $230,328,450 2026–27 budget on the May 19 ballot after a final presentation by the district business office and an hourslong public-comment period that included calls for an independent audit.

Board business official Robert Hauser, the district’s assistant superintendent for business operations, told the board the draft budget reflects estimated revenues and expenditures and noted state aid remains subject to the state budget. Hauser said the district’s tax levy cap calculation, which includes capital exclusions for technology and plant projects totaling $971,931, produces a proposed levy of $148,790,217 (a 2.12% increase). "That was the preliminary budget," Hauser said of an earlier run that showed a much larger shortfall, adding the district identified sizable reductions and revenues between February and March to narrow the gap.

The heart of the meeting’s contention centered on an assertion by a board member that the district had been "16.7 million dollars in the red," and that the board and public had not yet been given full answers about where those funds were reflected in later reconciliations. "We are 16.7 million dollars in the red. Unaccounted," the board member said during public remarks and in exchanges on the dais.

Hauser responded with a line-item reconciliation of major changes: he said special-education BOCES contracted costs were reduced by about $1.431 million; contracted transportation projections fell by roughly $900,000; employee health-insurance projections were lowered about $686,000; data-processing contracted services and legal-fee estimates were trimmed; and several program adjustments (including cancellation of a BOCES-run summer program) removed additional costs. He also listed one-time revenue or reserve uses — including $2,237,000 from an appropriated fund balance and $1,772,000 from an employee retirement reserve — and a governor-proposed foundation-aid uplift the board is counting on as part of the final draft.

Those explanations did not satisfy some board members and members of the public, who urged the board to pause the process and commission an independent forensic audit or ask the state comptroller for a review. A public commenter said bringing in an independent reviewer was the appropriate next step to restore public confidence; other speakers, including a former board member, urged caution and greater transparency before voters decide.

Despite the contested debate, the board moved and seconded a motion to place the proposed budget—$230,328,450—on the May 19 ballot. At least one board member announced a "no" vote on the motion; others recorded "yes" votes. The board also approved the district’s property tax report card (with recorded abstentions), approved the Eastern Suffolk BOCES administrative budget of $57,638,704, and conducted votes for BOCES board candidates (a mix of yes votes and several abstentions was recorded in the transcript).

The budget presentation included practical examples of homeowner impact: Hauser walked through sample assessed values and their corresponding school-tax amounts, showing a range of impacts and noting that individual homeowner exemptions can produce local variation.

What happens next: the district will hold a public budget hearing on May 5 and the budget will appear on the May 19 ballot for voter approval. Multiple public speakers and at least one board member said they will continue to press for an independent reconciliation or forensic review to clarify the sequence of figures and the reconciliation steps Hauser described.

Votes at a glance: motion to place 2026–27 budget on ballot, $230,328,450 — motion carried (roll call recorded; at least Ms. Freezy stated a "no" vote; several members recorded "yes" votes); property tax report card — approved (two abstentions recorded); Eastern Suffolk BOCES administrative budget $57,638,704 — approved; BOCES candidate votes — approved by recorded individual votes (some abstentions).

The board adjourned after additional routine business and staff updates about student programming and upcoming events.