By Hector Flores
When the polls closed at the Winthrop Avenue School at 10 p.m., 1,314 people had voted yes on the budget and 1,086 had voted no, a 228-vote margin.
In the first vote on May 17, the budget received 803 no votes and 583 yeses, a difference of 220 votes.
Sheldon Dumain, Bellmore's superintendent, said he was pleased that the spending plan passed. He also said, "We know that there is a lot of work ahead of us with the community next year."
Approval of the budget will enable the district to maintain its academic programs, class sizes and student services.
At the Winthrop school Monday evening, voter Mark Weitz, who moved to Bellmore a year ago, said he did not vote in the May election, but made sure to vote this time because his son attends Reinhard Elementary School. "We voted for [the budget] because we want to maintain the programs," he said. "We just moved to Nassau County, and we want to maintain what is here."
Diana Iny, who attended Bellmore schools as a child, said, "I'm a physical therapist, and I work with kids, and I think that it is very important for the budget to pass. I think the school system is great, and you must support the budget."
Les Jarmol, a Bellmore resident who voted for the budget in May and June, said, "It's important that the budget be approved. Without it, you lose all extracurricular activities, art and music programs. If the budget fails now, it will be difficult to find teachers to replace the teachers lost. My kids aren't school-age yet, but a budget failure would affect their future in the district."
Alissa Eisen and Carly Rotenberg, both first-time voters and recent college graduates who plan to earn their master's degrees in education, said they voted for the budget to make sure no teachers were cut.
Sam Jacobs, who voted for the budget for the first time, said, "I did not vote last time. I missed it, but I certainty came to vote today and voted yes. It's important to vote, not only for our own children, but for the other children, and to keep the value of our homes."
Jacobs's wife, Leslie, added, "The community that does not support its children is a community in which I don't want to live."
Alicia Steger, a Bellmore resident who hasn't missed a budget vote in 31 years, said, "I'm very concerned with people that don't vote. It's important for people to voice their opinion, whether it be yes or no, and today you had a lot of parents coming out to vote for the first time."
Comments about this story? HFlores@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
