Where's our property tax refund?

I dutifully paid my Brookhaven property taxes at the beginning of the year. It included 12 months of school and library taxes. Schools and libraries have been closed for 4 months. No building services, busing suspended, sports curtailed, lunches (with the exception of takeout cold sandwiches) has been stopped, and only some online teaching who's effectiveness has yet to be determined. We pay among the highest taxes in the country and where did the money go? We should demand a refund or credit for one third of the tax year.

Re: Where's our property tax refund?

Seriously, get over it.

You're not getting any money back. Teachers and administrators still needed to be paid, they worked throughout all of this. Custodial staff has been cleaning, disinfecting and prepping the schools so that the kids can return in September. Monies that normally would've funded sports, after school clubs, etc were likely re-allocated to pay for additional technology for students and teachers, upgrades to ventilation in the buildings, PPE for students and staff and any other safety protocols that are now needed.

I am so tired of people whining about their taxes, about teachers, about schools and about the other 4,000 things that everyone feels wronged by. Good God, we we thrust into an epidemic of which we haven't seen in over 100 years. NOBODY was prepared for this, MOST everyone did the best they could and we're all just going to have suck a few things up and roll with it. Instead of b!tching, just continue to support your local schools, libraries, teachers and whoever else the best that you can.

Re: Where's our property tax refund?

Posted by Hofstra26

Seriously, get over it.

You're not getting any money back. Teachers and administrators still needed to be paid, they worked throughout all of this. Custodial staff has been cleaning, disinfecting and prepping the schools so that the kids can return in September. Monies that normally would've funded sports, after school clubs, etc were likely re-allocated to pay for additional technology for students and teachers, upgrades to ventilation in the buildings, PPE for students and staff and any other safety protocols that are now needed.

I am so tired of people whining about their taxes, about teachers, about schools and about the other 4,000 things that everyone feels wronged by. Good God, we we thrust into an epidemic of which we haven't seen in over 100 years. NOBODY was prepared for this, MOST everyone did the best they could and we're all just going to have suck a few things up and roll with it. Instead of b!tching, just continue to support your local schools, libraries, teachers and whoever else the best that you can.

Re: Where's our property tax refund?

Posted by LittleDiva

Posted by Hofstra26

Seriously, get over it.

You're not getting any money back. Teachers and administrators still needed to be paid, they worked throughout all of this. Custodial staff has been cleaning, disinfecting and prepping the schools so that the kids can return in September. Monies that normally would've funded sports, after school clubs, etc were likely re-allocated to pay for additional technology for students and teachers, upgrades to ventilation in the buildings, PPE for students and staff and any other safety protocols that are now needed.

I am so tired of people whining about their taxes, about teachers, about schools and about the other 4,000 things that everyone feels wronged by. Good God, we we thrust into an epidemic of which we haven't seen in over 100 years. NOBODY was prepared for this, MOST everyone did the best they could and we're all just going to have suck a few things up and roll with it. Instead of b!tching, just continue to support your local schools, libraries, teachers and whoever else the best that you can.

I totally agree with you on this one.

I’m curious to see how schools are going to stay within their budgets with all these guidelines.

Re: Where's our property tax refund?

Unfortunately, our district will NOT dip into reserve funds, which I find crazy, because there is a lot in there. The district sent out an email urging parents to write letters to get our state aid (i guess it is being cut). We need to purchase more chromebooks for the students that have multiple kids in the district or to just even do the work remotely.

Where's our property tax refund?

My district does not provide chrome books, they have cut all sports and extras. They haven’t figured out the schedule yet. They told working parents “too bad, these are your children” when someone inquired about after care. They can’t even provide their own cleaning supplies, we send those in. When faced with budget cuts they slashed half the kids who were registered for UPK (yesterday). Can you imagine planning for pre-k for your kid and being told “nevermind” a week before?

I pay over $20k in taxes for a 6,000 sq ft. property. Most other pay more. I’m not going to go screaming for my money back, but the district is a dumpster fire and I wouldn’t lose any sleep if these crap administrators suddenly found themselves without a job.

Re: Where's our property tax refund?

Where's our property tax refund?

They do not know about State aid cuts yet. They probably won't know until mid year. Districts are planning for it but they have not heard anything definitive yet.

There are many districts (and good districts) on Long Island that are a financial mess. A few years back there was quite a few districts around where I live that were almost out of money. It is so important to have a BOE with some sort of financial background or the smarts to hire someone to oversee it. Every district should have a decent amount in reserves for exactly this reason.

Re: Where's our property tax refund?

Re: Where's our property tax refund?

Re: Where's our property tax refund?

Where's our property tax refund?

It's funny how little people in general know about their school tax dollars. The budget that passed last year for 2019-2020 has been used. Just because school isn't physically in session, it doesn't mean they're not using the tax dollars. Contracts were paid and legal obligations were fulfilled. Then, covid hit. They had to purchase sanitizing equipment, supplies for the custodial staff to disinfect the buildings, PPE for essential workers, busing for the children who still attended daycare programs in-district, food programs that still operated, insurance coverage for the buildings and grounds.... unforseen costs OUTSIDE the original budget.
Then, the budget for 2020-2021 that was voted upon already started off with a cut of 20% from NYS and they had to purchase bananas amounts of PPE and other things like sneeze guards, sanitizing equipment and floor markers, not to mention hiring new teachers, monitors, substitutes etc.
No one saved money because schools were closed.

Message edited 9/7/2020 4:28:31 PM.

Re: Where's our property tax refund?

Re: Where's our property tax refund?

Posted by Hofstra26

Posted by LIRascal

It's funny how little people in general know about their school tax dollars. The budget that passed last year for 2019-2020 has been used. Just because school isn't physically in session, it doesn't mean they're not using the tax dollars. Contracts were paid and legal obligations were fulfilled. Then, covid hit. They had to purchase sanitizing equipment, supplies for the custodial staff to disinfect the buildings, PPE for essential workers, busing for the children who still attended daycare programs in-district, food programs that still operated, insurance coverage for the buildings and grounds.... unforseen costs OUTSIDE the original budget.
Then, the budget for 2020-2021 that was voted upon already started off with a cut of 20% from NYS and they had to purchase bananas amounts of PPE and other things like sneeze guards, sanitizing equipment and floor markers, not to mention hiring new teachers, monitors, substitutes etc.
No one saved money because schools were closed.