Voters Reject Busing Referendum

West Islip voters overwhelmingly said no to a school district proposal that would have extended the for middle school and high school students.

With 289 votes for and 964 votes against, it was clear that many in West Islip did not like the idea of expanding the busing limits by a half-mile for middle school and high school students.

If approved, officials said the school district would have saved $500,000 in the 2012-13 school year and $300,000 in subsequent years.

Steve Gellar, president of the West Islip Board of Education, who was present at the high school Tuesday night when the vote total was announced, said the referendum was part of an overall effort by the board to try and save money in every way possible to preserve programs.

With the rejection by voters, Gellar said the board of education will again review a list of possible cuts offered by Superintendent Richard Simon to see where they can achieve savings.

“At this point, we are still a bit short, but not millions (of dollars) short like we were a few months back,” he said. “We’re also waiting for final state aid figures and we hope to have those Thursday.”

The next budget work session is set for Thursday, 7:30 p.m. at the Beach Street Middle School cafeteria.