Jericho Voice

May 2, 2026

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4 min read

Vote No on Prop 3.

It is not a vote against the schools. It is not a vote against the kids. It is not a vote against the budget. It is a vote against the one line on the ballot the same Board that begged you for your vote has signed off on without doing the job they swore they would do.

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

The Laundering Line. Where the Surplus Goes.

Apr 30, 2026

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10 min read

The Laundering Line. Where the Surplus Goes.

Every Jericho UFSD audit reports two different totals for what the District spent. The difference between them is a single line — Operating Transfers Out — that gets revised dramatically upward every year after the May vote. Across nine post-2016 fiscal years, voters originally approved approximately $22 million in transfers at the May ballot. The actual flows totaled $95 million. The extra $73 million was added mid-year, drawn from prior-year operating surplus parked in capital reserves, and spent on buildings paid for in cash. The State Comptroller documented this laundering cycle in 2016. It has continued for nine years.

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

Apr 30, 2026

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6 min read

Show Your Math: A Guide to the Jericho Budget Workbook

Every figure in every Jericho Voice piece traces to one of fifteen public documents — five appropriation budget master drafts, nine audited financial statements, and the December 2016 State Comptroller report. We compiled them into one workbook and published it open. Here is what is in each tab — and how to verify any number we have ever cited against the source audit page in five minutes.

Jericho Voice

Jericho Board

The Six Line Items the State Named. Padded for Nine More Years.

Apr 30, 2026

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12 min read

The Six Line Items the State Named. Padded for Nine More Years.

In December 2016, the State Comptroller named six budget line items Jericho UFSD was overestimating: teacher salaries, Students With Disabilities, insurance, contract transportation, plant maintenance, State retirement. Across the nine audits since, every one of those categories came in under Final Budget every single year — $91.9 million cumulative, 86.6 percent of the District's entire post-audit operating gap. When the underspend started to shrink, the surplus did not. The fulcrum just moved to the revenue side

Jericho Voice

Jericho Board

Apr 25, 2026

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14 min read

They Were Told. They Did It Bigger.

In December 2016, the State Comptroller cited Jericho for circumventing the 4% statutory fund balance limit. The District agreed in writing. The very next year, manufactured surplus hit $17.9 million — the highest in 22 years. The per-pupil number on the District's slide doesn't account for any of it.

Jericho Voice

Jericho Board

We're the Suckers: What Nine Years of Proposition #3 Proves About Jericho

Apr 25, 2026

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13 min read

We're the Suckers: What Nine Years of Proposition #3 Proves About Jericho

A final word on the Capital Reserve con, and the board — every board, including this one — that keeps running it.

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

The Last Article: What Proposition #3 Reveals About Jericho

Mar 27, 2026

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9 min read

The Last Article: What Proposition #3 Reveals About Jericho

Proposition #3 authorizes continuing the pattern. The March 26 board vote proved accountability is impossible.

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

There's Another Way to Pay for Capital Projects

Mar 20, 2026

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10 min read

There's Another Way to Pay for Capital Projects

Bond financing spreads costs fairly. The district has the financial capacity. The question is who should pay.

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

Budget Workshop #4: Three Propositions Voters Need to Understand

Mar 19, 2026

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6 min read

Budget Workshop #4: Three Propositions Voters Need to Understand

Before you vote to create a $20 million reserve funded by "surplus," understand where that surplus comes from

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

Budget Workshop #4 Analysis: Revenue, Expenditures, and Capital Propositions

Mar 18, 2026

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15 min read

Budget Workshop #4 Analysis: Revenue, Expenditures, and Capital Propositions

Spending Up 2.83%, Enrollment Down 7.3%, and Two Capital Propositions Totaling $24.7M

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

Budget Workshop #3: Enrollment Down, Spending Up

Mar 3, 2026

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5 min read

Budget Workshop #3: Enrollment Down, Spending Up

$95 Million in Spending and Declining Enrollment

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

Mar 1, 2026

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9 min read

The Budget That Never Goes Down

22 Years of Data. Zero Accountability.

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

Feb 12, 2026

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21 min read

Budget Workshop #2 Follow-Up Questions

62 Questions on Special Education, BOCES Spending, and Fiscal Accountability

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

22 Years, $247 Million in Surplus: Jericho Has Never Budgeted Accurately

Feb 12, 2026

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5 min read

22 Years, $247 Million in Surplus: Jericho Has Never Budgeted Accurately

Comprehensive analysis of two decades of audited financial data reveals systematic pattern of revenue overestimation and expenditure underruns—raising questions about fiscal competence or intentional over taxation

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

Budget Workshop #2: What to Watch for Tonight

Feb 12, 2026

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12 min read

Budget Workshop #2: What to Watch for Tonight

Pupil Services and Special Education: $28M in Proposed Spending

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

The $143 Million Question: A Decade of Structural Budget Surplus in the Jericho School District

Feb 11, 2026

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17 min read

The $143 Million Question: A Decade of Structural Budget Surplus in the Jericho School District

What Ten Years of Audited Financial Statements Reveal About Levy Calibration and Reserve Accumulation

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

Feb 10, 2026

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4 min read

Jericho Budgeted Another $195,000 for Legal Services — Before Vetting Any Alternatives

The district locked in another six-figure legal budget before its current law firm’s contract expires or any alternatives were reviewed.

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

Feb 9, 2026

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10 min read

Budget Workshop #1 Follow-Up Questions

2026–2027 school budget workshop 1 follow-up questions

Jericho Voice

Jericho Board

A Question of Timing, Authority, and Direction

Feb 5, 2026

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4 min read

A Question of Timing, Authority, and Direction

Why Jericho’s first five-year strategic plan won’t exist until a year into the Superintendent’s term

Jericho Voice

BOCES

Feb 2, 2026

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6 min read

Mandatory by Design: RWADA, Capital Decisions, and the Limits of BOCES Oversight

Examining how RWADA allocation and capital governance affect long-term BOCES costs

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

BOCES Isn’t Optional — But the Costs, Structure, and Expansion Deserve Scrutiny

Feb 1, 2026

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6 min read

BOCES Isn’t Optional — But the Costs, Structure, and Expansion Deserve Scrutiny

A closer look at BOCES cost growth, capital expansion, and what it means for local school budgets

Jericho Voice

Jericho Budget

Feb 1, 2026

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6 min read

Jericho Budget Workshop #1: What the District Presented — and What Comes Next

A detailed look at tax levy assumptions, capital planning, and what was deferred to future workshops

Jericho Voice

Jericho School District

Portrait of a Graduate: What the December 11 Presentation Clarified and What It Quietly Confirmed

Jan 6, 2026

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7 min read

Portrait of a Graduate: What the December 11 Presentation Clarified and What It Quietly Confirmed

What the District Said, What the Presentation Revealed, and Why Board Oversight Is Required Before Any Next Steps

Jericho Voice

Jericho School District

The New York State Portrait of a Graduate: Why Local Oversight in Jericho Matters

Nov 28, 2025

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12 min read

The New York State Portrait of a Graduate: Why Local Oversight in Jericho Matters

Portrait of a Graduate: What It Is, How We Got Here, and Why Local Oversight in Jericho Matters

Jericho Voice

Jericho PTA

How Is the PTA Selling Jericho Merchandise, and Why Is It Nearly One-Fifth of Their Annual Revenue?

Nov 24, 2025

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4 min read

How Is the PTA Selling Jericho Merchandise, and Why Is It Nearly One-Fifth of Their Annual Revenue?

A review of PTSA budget documents shows that nearly seventeen percent of its annual revenue comes from selling Jericho-branded merchandise, raising clear questions about authorization and policy compliance.

Jericho Voice