Freeport
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Vol. 85 No. 15
THE LEADER IN PROPERTY TA X REDUCTION
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APRIl 9 - 15, 2020
A history of Freeport bars Librarian breaks down village’s tavern legacy in a virtual seminar By RoNNY REYES rreyes@liherald.com
Courtesy Kimberly Creed Llompart
Here for the birthday girl Freeporters drove by to celebrate Kaitlyn Llompart’s 13th birthday on April 3. Story, Page 5.
About three years ago, two Freeporters began listing all the bars they knew around Freeport. The list was relatively short, but when they gave it to Village Historian Cynthia Krieg, she began asking around about all the bars and taverns that people knew about. Krieg then handed the list over to Regina Feeney, the Freeport Memorial Library archivist, who compiled a master list on the library’s website, which lists the names and locations of more than 270 bars, from old taverns
to speakeasies to modern-day fixtures of the community. To share that history amid a pandemic — and potentially relieve a little of the anxiety that so many are feeling — Feeney hosted her first online seminar, “Freeport Walks into a Bar,” on April 4, for which residents logged in to learn about some of the most famous bars and bar owners in the village.
A village that loves its bars
While Freeport has existed as a settlement since the 1640s, it began thriving as a community in the early 1800s as waves of Continued on page 8
School district loses $1.5 million in state aid By RoNNY REYES rreyes@liherald.com
Freeport Public Schools Superintendent Kishore Kuncham said the district has a tough road ahead, as it must re-evaluate its $191 million budget for the 2020-21 school year after the State Legislature voted April 2 to keep Foundation Aid flat for public schools. The state’s $177 billion budget was originally projected to increase Freeport’s Foundation Aid by $1.5 million, but with that money gone, the district must fill the budget hole, along with a previously estimated $3.3 million gap in the district’s spending plan. While the original gap would
have been tackled by increasing the district’s tax levy — which had been lowered each of the past five years — it cannot be now. Kuncham said the district was to add 16 1/2 staff positions next year, but it will not. In the previous budget plan, which was presented in February and March, district officials had planned to add two assistant principals as well as nine teaching, one and a half teaching assistant, two coaching and two department coordinator positions for the 202021 school year. They will not now. The district will also halt any new projects to make up for the budget deficit. Raising property taxes to make up for deficits is a limited option for school districts. By law,
districts cannot raise their tax levies by more than roughly 2 percent — in the case of Freeport, it cannot be raised next school year by more than 1.81 percent — without a supermajority of voters agreeing to the increase in a referendum. The district, however, is allowed to exceed that percentage because certain expenses are exempted from the law, so in reality, the district could increase its tax levy by 5.92 percent. But district officials said that they would not raise the tax levy to its allowable limit. Kuncham said the district would not propose a tax levy any higher than 3.5 percent, what had been previously proposed. District officials said the main
priority is to ensure all current programs and personnel remain in place. “This is quite devastating,” Kuncham said. “ Even a small increase would have been fine, but now it’s flat. I’m disappointed with the outcome as our district, among other high-needs districts, depends on state aid.” The district had previously criticized the state for lack of funding, saying the Freeport
School District has repeatedly received less than its share of Foundation Aid. District officials estimated the district is owed more than $340 million in Foundation Aid over the past decade. Beth Rella, the district’s assistant superintendent for business, added that the aid the schools were supposed to receive from the state for the 2020-21 school year was half of what districts Continued on page 4