By Andrew Coen
The newly proposed $79.3 million budget is a 6.18 percent increase over the 2004-05 budget. The school district's initial budget proposal of $81.8 million, a 9.57 percent hike, was rejected on May 17 by a vote of 2,334 to 1,523.
The lower budget contains a tax-levy increase of 6.73 percent. The initial proposal came with an almost 11 percent hike, making it one of the largest increases in Nassau County. District officials attributed the budget increase mainly to mandated costs beyond their control, including hikes in the teachers' retirement system, health insurance, special education and utilities.
The new proposal would mean an estimated 9.02 percent tax increase for the average District 14 homeowner, according to the Nassau County Assessor's Office. The tax rate would be an estimated $348.58 per $100 of the assessed value of a home, according to the assessor.
If the district were forced to work with a contingency budget for the first time in its history, it would total $76,982,792, a 3.06 percent increase over the current budget, forcing the school district to spend money only on essential items and cut programs like continuing education and summer recreation, according to district officials. The tax levy hike would be 5.3 percent. According to Dr. Peter Weber, assistant superintendent for business, the difference between a contingency budget and the newly proposed budget would be around $94 a year for the typical District 14 taxpayer.
During the June 1 public hearing, many residents expressed concern over what would happen if the modified budget were defeated during the June 21 revote and the district were forced onto austerity. "If we go into contingency, we will all be affected by it," said district resident John Altus. "We need to maintain the excellence of this district."
"It's important to know that this will affect everybody if this budget is not passed," said Melissa Gates, a North Woodmere resident and co-president of the Ogden Elementary School PTA.
The cuts resulting from a second rejection of the Hewlett-Woodmere budget would mean the loss of around 15 staff members, including one assistant principal at Hewlett High School, the BOCES public relations position and two occupational therapists, said district officials. Some of the districtwide cuts to reduce the budget include $97,000 in staff conference and travel, $200,000 in furniture and equipment and $50,000 in instructional supplies.
The proposed budget also raises fees for the use of facilities, which would add around $780,000 in revenue for the district, according to school officials. The one-time application fee for use of a facility or athletic field would rise from $50 to $60, while hourly rates would also increase slightly.
Before the June 1 hearing, district officials had tentatively planned to cut $33,500 in money allocated to the Five Towns Senior Center, but after hearing comments from some residents, the school board decided not to touch that funding.
All of the $865,000 in capital and maintenance projects proposed in the initial budget will remain, with the exception of plans to resurface and replace the nets at the Hewlett High School tennis courts, which district officials have said are badly in need of repair. Putting off the project at the tennis courts, which are used frequently by residents, will cut $163,000 from the original budget, according to Weber.
The projects that district officials plan to keep in the budget include the replacement of the heating pipes at Ogden Elementary School and Franklin Early Childhood Center, repair of the Woodmere Middle School roof, replacement of a set of doors by the middle school auditorium that are old and worn and the replacement of the high school's fuel tank monitoring system.
Some residents expressed concern with a published report that Hewlett-Woodmere had the highest overall tax increase over a four-year period. Weber responded by saying that Hewlett-Woodmere has been treated as a wealthy district by the state, and thus received only enough state aid to cover 7 percent of the total costs of the budget, compared with 50 percent in in upstate New York.
Hewlett resident Richard Perl said that if the district continues at its current pace of budget increases, budgets could become too much for taxpayers to shoulder. "When you consider [increasing the budget] 6 percent each year, the budget will double over 12 years," said Perl. "This is of great concern to me."
Howard Goldstein of Hewlett said that on May 17 he voted no on the budget for just the fifth time in his 28 years of living in the district. "I voted no because I can't take these increases year after year," said Goldstein. "You are going to have to keep the increases lower so people can continue to live here."
Other cuts made by district officials included $20,000 in the BOCES environmental education program geared toward improving science education in the elementary school, and $54,000 in the BOCES Model Schools program at the middle school. The plan to add four new athletic teams to the middle school to create more opportunities for students to participate in athletics was also cut, resulting in savings of around $50,000.
A budget review session is scheduled for Tuesday, June 14, at 9 p.m., at the Woodmere Education Center. Voting on Tuesday, June 21, will take place from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Woodmere Education Center.
Comments about this story? ACoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
