By roughly 2 to 1, Farmingdale residents voted to approve the 2012-13 school budget Tuesday night.
Votes were collected and tallied at ; the final tally was 1787 votes for yes, and 896 for no. Nearly 67% of those who voted decided to pass the $150,567,160 budget, which fits in under the state tax levy cap.
"We appreciate the community's support, we all worked hard as a community to put a budget together that they could support, and they did," said Superintendent John Lorentz moments after the results were announced.
Find out what's happening in Farmingdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The budget increases just 1.82 percent over last year, largely due to teachers .
Voters also approved the use of over $5 million from capital reserves on window and energy projects at Howitt, Saltzman East and Albany Avenue schools. That measure passed 1814 to 770. The youth council appropriation also passed, 1802 to 704.
Find out what's happening in Farmingdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
There was little suspense when it came to the school board elections. All three incumbents ran unopposed, so Kathly Lively, Shari Bardash-Eivers and Rick Morrison get another term.
Receive updates to this story and other breaking news in your inbox or smartphone by signing up for our newsletter here
In terms of turnout, Lorentz wants more community involvement, but was not surprised at the overall numbers at the polls.
"Of course we'd like as many people to participate as possible," Lorentz said. "The numbers were a little lower than last year, but they are typical of what the community involvement is."
