Approve East Rockaway spending plan

In East Rockaway, district officials have proposed a roughly $38.2 million budget. If passed by voters, it would actually reduce expenditures by about $162,000. The drop in spending is largely the result of the district’s paying off debts this year, which means more money for science, music, art and technology programs, officials said.

The proposed 2017-18 tax levy increase is a mere 0.27 percent. The levy is the total amount that a district must collect in taxes to meet expenses. With such a low levy, we can only say, bravo! Excellent work, East Rockaway!

As recently as 2014, the state comptroller’s office listed the East Rockaway district among the school systems that were experiencing “moderate fiscal stress.” Much of that stress was caused by Hurricane Sandy, which decimated the community in 2012. Residents have been recovering ever since.

By 2015, thanks to sound budget practices, East Rockaway was no longer on the fiscal-stress list, and it has stayed off it ever since.

School officials say the district now relies less on its emergency reserves to fill budget gaps. For the 2016-17 school year, about a million dollars came from the district’s reserve fund. In 2017-18, East Rockaway will use a little less than $639,000.

We urge East Rockaway voters to cast their ballots for the school district budget. Voting will take place from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Junior-Senior High School.

Vote for Gamache, Schloth

Both candidates for the East Rockaway Board of Education are running unopposed. Keith Gamache, a trustee for three years, said he has several goals going forward, including improving the fields at the high school, upgrading security and updating classrooms. Neil Schloth, meanwhile, will begin his ninth year as a trustee, and said he intends to dedicate his time to advocating for an increase in foundation aid, funding that the state designates to ensure that each student receives at least a “sound, basic education.”