By Andrew Coen
All the potential proposals which were presented to the residents at a March 28 public forum at Hewlett High School contain no major program cuts, but do involve a slight reduction of staffing and increase in class size. The budgets being considered include a net reduction of 7.9 teachers and teacher aides and a loss of sections, which would increase class size slightly, district officials said.
District officials said an 8.4 percent budget increase would be needed to keep all programming and staffing in place, but such a proposal would risk being voted down, putting the district at risk for going on austerity. The current $79.3 million budget passed by a vote of 3,152 to 1,918 on June 21 last year following the initial proposal of $81.8, a 9.57 percent increase, falling by 811 votes, 2,334 to 1,523. It was the first time since 1995 that District 14 held a re-vote for a rejected budget.
The budget includes $1 million in building repairs which only scratches the surface of the $44 million in improvements needed in all the district's buildings in the next five years, according to district officials. District officials stated that each one percent of a budget increase accounts for $793,000.
Hewlett-Woodmere officials are attributing the need to increase the budget despite lowering staff due to external factors out of the district's control, like increasing costs of energy, health insurance and rising state mandated assessments that require extra staffing. Hewlett-Woodmere is also expected to lose money in state aid, according to school officials with roughly 7 percent of money from Albany making up the budget leaving residents to shoulder much of the tax burden.
"There are a number of things that are out of our control," said Dr. Peter Weber, district 14 assistant superintendent for business at the March 28 public forum.
While an exact tax rate is not known, Dr. Weber estimated at the forum that the average district 14 resident would see a roughly 7 percent increase in their taxes, depending on what proposal is picked and the home value.
The March 28 forum was part of a series of public meetings district 14 officials held to construct the budget to keep residents in the loop. A budget work meeting was held on March 8, with an all day session held on Saturday March 18. At the March 8 meeting, Hewlett-Woodmere officials proposed a 6.9 percent budget increase, but revised the number to be a 6.4 percent hike at the March 18 session. Following the March 18 all day affair, the school board reviewed a series of options ranging from a 5.9 to 6.5 percent budget increase, which the public had an opportunity to comment on at the March 28 forum.
"It's very important for us to hear from a broad spectrum of the community," said Dr. Weber.
"We do want to come together as a community and support the best possible budget for our students," said Stephanie Price, co president of Hewlett-Woodmere Central Council PTA at the March 28 forum.
The March 28 forum featured a diverse crowd of both parents of children in the district, senior citizens and students, with many of the residents expressing concerns about increases in class sizes, staff reductions and taxes.
"Whether you realize it or not being in a large class in high school is frustrating," said Hewlett High School senior Joslyn Jackson, who attended the forum for a class project but decided to address the crowd after concerns of class size increases were raised.
Mala Siletsky said her taxes doubled last year and if they continue to rise, she will not be able to afford to live in the district anymore. "It's getting to be impossible," said Siletsky.
District officials emphasized that much of the reason some residents' taxes are going up is due to changes in the Nassau County assessment system implemented in 1999 and that they understand people's frustrations.
"We are all doing our best to keep things under control," said school board president Howard Weinick at the forum. "As a board we are trying to keep costs down as best as possible."
The budget is scheduled to be adopted on April 11, with a review session of the proposal to be held on May 1. The public will decide whether to approve the proposed budget on May 17.
Comments about this story? Acoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
