School district elections are today. Check lohud for results tonight

School districts across the Lower Hudson Valley and the state will hold public votes today on proposed budgets for 2024-25 and school board races. Many districts will also seek support for various propositions.

The Journal News/lohud will have results tonight as they come in. Polls will close at 9 p.m. in most districts; check your district's website to confirm hours.

Each district has a cap for how much it can seek to raise its property tax levy — the total amount it would raise through property taxes. The state set a starting cap of 2% for 2024-25, but that percentage ends up being higher or lower for individual districts depending on a number of factors, such as changes to a community's tax base, capital costs and pension contribution increases.

Many districts are coming off two or three years of federal stimulus grants and large increases in state aid. Last year, seven districts out of the 53 holding budget votes in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties proposed not raising their tax levy at all.

But this year's budget season has been quite different. Federal stimulus aid is gone and many districts will get small increases in state "foundation aid" or none at all. With inflation, plus rising healthcare and pension costs, many districts said they had to craft lean spending plans.

A chart showing each local district's proposed tax levy increase, plus other information, is available here.

More: Four of Lower Hudson's most affluent school districts seek to break tax cap; see chart

Four districts will seek to break their property-tax levy cap: Chappaqua, Harrison, Rye and Scarsdale. Those districts will need the support of at least 60% of voters.

In any New York districts where voters reject spending plans, school boards can choose to present a second budget plan to voters on June 18.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Westchester, Rockland, Putnam NY school districts hold elections