The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District is looking at a 3.58 percent increase in its 2010-11 operating budget when compared to the current year, meaning expenditures would jump from roughly $122 million to $127.3 million. more

Updated: Wednesday, 4:21 p.m. A winter storm roared into Long Island early Wednesday morning, and by midday had dumped an estimated two to four inches of snow and ice on Bellmore-Merrick. more

Owing to possible blizzard-like conditions, all classes and activities in all five Bellmore-Merrick area school districts have been canceled on Wednesday, Feb. 10. On Tuesday evening, weather prognosticators were predicting more than a half-foot of snow, prompting the cancellations. more

The Bellmore-Merrick Youth Association, sponsor of the Braves football and cheerleading squads, recently held its annual awards ceremony. Stopping by to present a Town of Hempstead Citation was Town Clerk Mark Bonilla, of Bellmore, front, second from right. BMYA has members from Bellmore, Merrick and East Meadow. more

Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District officials are weighing whether to eliminate summer school in 2010 owing to $2.2million in potential cuts to the district’s state aid package. The cuts, if approved by the state Legislature, would reduce Bellmore-Merrick’s total aid by nearly 12 percent. more

Federal stimulus money allowed Bellmore-Merrick school districts to patch holes in their budgets caused by state aid cuts last spring, but that may not be the case entirely this year. In December, the cash-strapped state used part of its 2010-11 federal stimulus money to prevent midyear reductions in state aid for education in the current school year, said Matt Anderson, a state Budget Office spokesman. more

Peter Holmstedt of Holm's Citgo on Merrick Avenue in Merrick donated nearly $2,000 to the Community Wellness Council of the Bellmores and Merricks, Inc. The council's goal is to prevent substance abuse in the community and to improve quality of life by fostering physical and emotional wellness. Above, Holmstedt, Wellness Council Diector Fran Licausi and Wellness Council President Emilio Manzo display the charitable check. more

Following two public suicides by students in the past year, residents expressed concern at the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District last week and asked school officials to consider measures the district could take to educate students about the issues surrounding suicide. more

The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District Special Education PTA and the Community Parent Center will present the third annual Fair for Transitioning Students with Disabilities on Tuesday, Jan. 19, from 7 to 9:30p.m. in the Calhoun High School cafeteria. For more information, call Cheryl Gitlitz at (516) 992-1349. To register, e-mail MartineTyson at mmtys@optonline.net. The event will feature a panel presentation for parents and students about life after high school. more

Tzvi Lewisohn, a Calhoun High School senior, loves to win. Basketball, bowling, you name it, Lewisohn is a competitor. But, he is quick to note, more important than winning is sportsmanship. “We always congratulate the other teams,” Lewisohn, a member of Calhoun's Challenger bowling and basketball teams, says with a smile. “We don't want them to think we're out to win; we're just trying to have fun.” Of course, it doesn't hurt that both teams are undefeated for the past two years. They have not lost since the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District started the Challenger basketball league for special-education students with a handful of other Nassau County school districts in 2008. more