Taxpayers in two Long Island school districts are back at the polls today to cast ballots on revised budgets for the next school year.

Last month, both the Elwood Union Free School District and Shelter Island Union Free School District presented voters with budgets that pierced the property tax cap. Doing so required a supermajority to approve the budget.

In May, neither Elwood (54%) nor Shelter Island (56%) reached the 60% threshold required to finalize their budgets.

School districts that fail to pass a budget on the second vote are required to approve a contingency budget, which mandates a 0% tax increase from the current year. This generally means drastic cuts across the board.

The two school districts are taking different approaches this time around.

The Elwood Board of Education approved a revised proposed budget that cut an additional $829,027 from the one that failed last month.

This includes more cuts to school security, cocurricular clubs and seven teaching positions through attrition.

The $78 million budget carries a 2.35% spending increase over this current year and includes a 2.64% tax increase.

Though lower than the previous 4.2% proposed tax increase that failed, this budget once again goes above the state tax cap, which requires that supermajority of 60% of the voters to pass.

"The proposed budget seeks to preserve academic programs and athletics and avoid additional staffing reductions that would impact class size and student support services," the Elwood Board of Education wrote in a recent newsletter to the community.

The board approved using nearly $3.8 million of its fund balance and reserves as a one-time effort to close the budget deficit while reducing financial stress on taxpayers.

Elwood school board members said a contingency budget would require an additional $1.4 million in cuts. This could include reductions in four more teaching positions, elementary music programs, middle and high school sports and field trip transportation.

The Shelter Island Board of Education approved a $13.3 million revised budget that reduced spending by $550,000 from the proposal that failed last month.

Last month's proposed property tax hit would have been 6.97% compared to the new proposed 2.13%, which stays under the state's tax cap.

Therefore, this new budget only requires a simple majority to approve it.

The new proposal still increases spending by 1.55% compared to this current school year.

The district made the cuts by eliminating the Pre-K3 program, reducing field trips and cutting hours for certain special education positions, according to a budget presentation late last month.

"The Shelter Island School District remains committed to respecting and valuing the voice of our community," Shelter Island Superintendent of Schools Brian Doelger told News 12. "Following a careful evaluation of the initial budget vote results, the District has developed a revised, tax cap-compliant budget proposal for today's revote. Our ongoing priority is to present a fiscally responsible budget that aligns with community values while continuing to meet the educational needs of our students."

If this budget is not approved, the district would need to cut an additional $244,523 from the latest proposal. The board said that would result in cuts to large programs including athletics, clubs, activities and electives, according to a budget presentation earlier this month.

Voting in the Elwood School District will take place in the Elwood Middle School cafeteria between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.

Voting in the Shelter Island School District will take place at the school conference room between 12 p.m. and 9 p.m.