Vote ‘yes’ on West Hempstead spending plan

In West Hempstead, residents should approve the proposed $60 million school budget. It calls for 1.35 percent more spending and a 1.7 percent tax levy increase — well below the district’s tax cap — and would maintain academic programs, athletics and co-curricular activities. The spending plan would allocate $810,000 to much-needed renovations to the high school’s auditorium and its sound and light staging systems.

For trustee, Magaraci and Trocchia

The Herald endorses Joseph Magaraci in the race for the only contested seat on the West Hempstead Board of Education, against another West Hempstead resident, Nicholas Hoh. Magaraci, a father of three and the husband of an active volunteer, Lorraine Magaraci, who has given much to the village, coaching baseball, football and soccer in the youth divisions and founding the West Hempstead Broncos football league 12 years ago. He has also organized three Relays for Life.

The Herald also supports Vincent Trocchia, a 27-year school board trustee who is running unopposed. Trocchia was instrumental in the effort to pass last year’s $35.5 million bond, which will bring numerous, necessary changes, like structural integrity, to the school district buildings. Trocchia is a retired engineer, a useful area of expertise given the many construction projects that will commence in the district in the near future.

Approve W.H. library budget

The West Hempstead Public Library’s budget proposal of $4.1 million is also worthy of residents’ support. Though it is 10.8 percent larger than last year’s $3.7 million spending plan, much of the increase is for state-mandated retirement and insurance funding. And residents are being asked to subsidize only $132,000 of this increase, at an estimated cost of about $25 per household, with the remaining money coming from the fund balance. That’s a bargain for anyone who has taken advantage of the library’s extensive array of programs and resources — most of which are offered free to village residents.