The New York State School Boards Association said Wednesday that the defeat a second time of a budget for Parishville-Hopkinton Central School should help spur a re-examination of the state’s two-percent tax cap policy.

On Tuesday, for the second time this year, a budget proposal from Parishville-Hopkinton school officials was defeated by voters even though most who cast a ballot voted for it.

That’s because the school earnestly believed they needed to have a budget that exceeded the state-mandated cap of a two-percent increase per year. Under the tax cap rules, a budget with more than a two-percent increase over the year before would be approved only if it received a “super majority” of 60 percent of votes.

The PHCS budget votes did not meet that threshold, twice. Tuesday’s vote was 206-140 in favor, but that was only a 59.5 percent favorable vote.

“The results clearly highlight the need for state lawmakers to amend the tax cap,” a press release from the NYSSBA said.

"Once again, we see the detrimental effects of the tax cap in action," said Timothy G. Kremer, NYSSBA executive director. "Since the tax cap took effect, two-thirds of districts that unsuccessfully attempted overrides had a majority of their voters support their budgets, yet their budgets were defeated. In these cases, fewer than half of voters trumped the will of the majority. The tax cap turns the concept of 'one person, one vote' on its head."

Kremer said this situation could potentially be avoided if lawmakers redesign the override requirement so that it is a separate ballot question, put directly to voters for simple majority approval.

"We have four years of experience with the tax cap under our belt," said Kremer. "We've learned from experience. Lawmakers have the opportunity right now to improve the cap and clarify voters' confusion by adopting these much-needed reforms."

The reforms proposed by NYSSBA and the Educational Conference Board are:

• Redesigning the override requirement as a separate ballot question;

• Modifying the uniquely restrictive zero percent contingent budget cap for schools;

• Making the allowable levy growth factor a consistent 2 percent, regardless of CPI;

• Addressing instances where a district's maximum allowable tax cap is negative;

• Counting BOCES capital costs in the capital exclusion;

• Including PILOTs in the tax base growth factor; and

• Accounting for enrollment growth in the tax cap calculation.

PHCS will now be operating under a reduced contingency budget until next year’s budget is proposed.