South Country schools face $6 million shortfall, consider 14% tax hike

Bellport-area homeowners could be asked to absorb a nearly 14% school tax levy increase while South Country Central School District still faces about a $6 million budget hole after cutting more than $8 million from spending. The gap has put property taxes, staffing and classroom offerings squarely on the line in Bellport, Brookhaven and East Patchogue.

The Office of the New York State Comptroller said in an enhanced budget review issued April 10 that South Country was on track for an approximately $8.7 million deficit in 2025-26 even after spending freezes and personnel layoffs. The review said the district had an unassigned general fund balance deficit of $1.8 million as of June 30, 2025, and projected a fiscal year-end deficit of about $10.5 million if trends continued. It also warned that borrowing to cover operating expenses would likely widen future funding gaps.

South Country’s own finance materials said the district overspent its voter-approved 2024-25 budget by about $3.49 million. To tighten oversight, the board retained John Belmonte, a school business official with more than 30 years of experience, to strengthen daily financial monitoring. The district’s 2026-27 budget cycle included presentations on January 21, February 4, February 25, March 11 and March 25, with staff also presenting a staffing analysis and a three-year fiscal recovery plan.

Superintendent Antonio Santana had already proposed cutting 55 jobs, including 43 teachers and five administrators, as part of that recovery effort. District officials have said they are trying to preserve core academic programming and essential services while restoring long-term financial stability, but the options are narrowing. The 2025-26 adopted budget raised taxes by 3.48% and eliminated 51.2 full-time equivalent positions, yet the district still has to close a much larger hole heading into the next school year.

Enrollment and costs have made the squeeze worse. South Country lost 569 students between 2014 and 2024, while employee health care, transportation and special education costs continued to climb. The district also may not receive state Special Act funding it had hoped would help cover the existing deficit, which could force a short-term loan for 2025-26 and then deeper cuts or a larger tax increase for 2026-27.