Support Malverne school budget

Malverne’s proposed $55.5 million spending plan has a tax levy increase of 1.31 percent and raises spending just 1.79 percent — the smallest budget-to-budget increase in the district’s history. It is Proposition 1, and voters should give it their support.

Proposition 2 — a capital improvement package totaling $2.5 million — would bring much-needed renovations to district schools, including electrical upgrades, gym bleacher replacement and bathroom renovations, and we favor its approval as well. For every $1 the district spends in capital improvements, the state will reimburse 52 cents.

School district officials anticipate future growth and want to expand. We urge voters to also support Proposition 3, under which the district would to purchase property near the Davison Avenue Intermediate School. Residents in the district would not incur any cost since the money would come from the district’s fund balance. The parcel would eventually be used for school expansion.

Tinsley, Hopkins for board trustee

Two seats on the Malverne Board of Education are up for election. One is being vacated by board President Jack Tulley, and the other is held by incumbent Danielle Hopkins, who is running unopposed to retain it.

Phyllis Tinsley, an 18-year Lakeview resident and a longtime volunteer in and outside the district, is running unopposed for Tulley’s seat on the board. A retired field manager for Verizon, Tinsley was honored in 2015 with the school district’s Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award for her extensive involvement in the Malverne School District.

She volunteered for the Girl Scouts for 20 years, 13 of them as a scout leader. Tinsley is involved in the Malverne MAC Center — a non-profit organization that provides morning and after-school programs for district children — the Malverne Supervisory Council, Music Parents, and many more activities. Her commitment to the betterment of the community and its young people is obvious to anyone who knows her, and we believe she would be a solid addition to the school board.

Hopkins, a lifetime Lakeview resident, has been a trustee since 2005. She — along with her board colleagues and school officials — has been instrumental in bringing about positive change to the Malverne district, including vastly improved athletic fields, more Advanced Placement classes, and renovations and upgrades of the district’s infrastructure and technology. We encourage voters to re-elect her.