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Budgets pass, one school board seat changes hands

District 13 incumbent defeated

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Voters approved all four Valley Stream school district budgets on Tuesday, and one of the two incumbent school board trustees lost their seat to a challenger.

The Valley Stream Central High School District budget received 1,609 yes votes and 644 no votes. Proposition 2, which includes capital reserves for additional building improvements, was approved with 1,675 yes votes to 582 no votes.

District 13’s budget received 922 yes votes and 349 no votes. Trustees Jeanne Greco Jacobs and William Stris ran against challengers Denise Diodato and Vincent Toma, respectively. Diodato unseated Greco Jacobs, 669 votes to 595. Stris defeated Toma by 20 votes — 647 to 627.

District 24 voters approved the district’s budget 391-152. Board of Education President Donna LaRocco ran unopposed. She received 452 votes.

The District 30 budget was approved with 384 yes votes to 106 no votes. Trustee James Lavery ran unopposed. He received 296 votes.

VSCHSD superintendent, Bill Heidenreich, said he was “very satisfied” with the passing of the district’s budget. “I thought we had put together a budget that the community would come out and support, and they did just that,” he said. “It was nice to see upwards of 70 percent supporting our capital reserves and our budget. It allows us to move confidently into the next phase of planning and really begin work for 2015 and 2016.”

Outgoing District 13 Superintendent Adrienne Robb-Fund, who will be stepping down at the end of this academic year, said she was proud to see the budget pass in each of her four years as head of the district.

“I’m delighted to see the support the community gave to our spending plan,” she said. “This year was the largest margin of support for our budget in the years I’ve been in District 13.”

Stris said he was glad to be elected to another term on the school board, and said he looked forward to continuing his work

“I’m excited for the district, these are exciting times for us,” he said. “The challenges ahead of us are daunting, but I think we can handle it … We have a strong board and a good mix of senior and new members.”

Diodato said she was looking forward to beginning her term. “I really appreciate all of the support I received, and I would like to thank everyone for their hard work,” she said. “I’m looking forward to working to make sure that parents are informed about what’s happening in our classrooms, and preparing each student for these trying economic times.”

Greco Jacobs said she was saddened by the outcome of the race, but said she would not be leaving the district entirely. “I’m obviously disappointed with the results, but it just means that I’m going to have to find a new way to stay involved in the district,” she said. “I always fought for the betterment of each kid in our district.”

District 24 Superintendent Ed Fale said he was “thrilled” with what he called the continuation of a “strong tradition” of support for the school’s budget. “We know we have a very supportive community and we appreciate the involvement that residents showed with their votes,” he said. “We are eager to start planning and preparing for the next school year.”

Nicholas Stirling, District 30 superintendent, said he was happy with the show of support form voters. “I’m elated with the fact that we have been able to put forward a budget that continues to put the education of our children first, while still avoiding a rise in taxes,” he said. “This budget allows us to maintain programs and expand in various areas. We are also able to move forward with our plans for capital projects, thanks to the affirmation from our community.”