Riverhead Board of Education

The situation our district finds itself in right now — failed budgets, failed bond votes, upset and angry parents, dejected children — isn’t somebody else’s fault. It’s a direct result of the persistent lack of candor on display at every carefully scripted board meeting — of the board and a series of superintendents being consistently unwilling to give people straight answers to straight questions about subjects that are, in fact, the people’s business.

The school board voted unanimously to schedule the revote on July 28, the date established by Gov. Andrew Cuomo for school budget re-votes across the state.

With its first failed budget in more than a decade, the Riverhead school board must decide whether to submit the budget to voters again or live with a $144.8 million contingency budget. In a June 9 executive order, the governor said school districts will be allowed a revote next month, with date and process to be determined by him.

Counting is underway of the more than 6,000 ballots received in the Riverhead Central School District election — by far the most votes cast in any school district election in more than 20 years and more than double the average turnout for school elections over the past decade.

The Riverhead Board of Education is set to vote on a six-year contract with the teachers union at its meeting Tuesday afternoon. The new agreement provides for salary increases totaling 3.5% over the six-year contract period, with no increases in the first two years, increases of .75% in years three and four and 1% increases in years five and six.

Mailed ballots in the school district budget vote and trustee election have until June 16 to be received by the school district under a new executive order signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo today, the governor announced in a press release. The deadline for hand-delivered ballots remains June 9 at 5 p.m.

A large group of parents went to the school board meeting this week to ask for the district's help in their battle against mandatory vaccination requirements that will prevent their unvaccinated children from attending school as of Sept. 17.

The board will convene an executive session Wednesday morning to discuss "potential acquisition of real property" but school officials won't identify the real property being discussed.

Due to "confidentiality requirements," the district will not disclose the substance of the charges against the former principal accused of sending sexually explicit texts and partially nude photos of himself to a female student.

Islip Middle School assistant principal Bryan Miltenberg was appointed to the post by the board of education Tuesday night.