By Andrew Coen
The budget, which will officially be adopted by the board at its April 20 meeting, currently stands at a 9.98 percent increase over the 2004-05 budget. If the board were to adopt it, it would result in a 15.88 percent tax increase for the typical Hewlett-Woodmere homeowner, according to Dr. Peter Weber, assistant superintendent for business.
Some board members expressed concern during their April 6 budget meeting over how the public would react to a large budget increase, even though it is being driven in large part by factors beyond the board's control, including increased health and fuel costs from the state. "It's a big risk," Trustee Stephanie Gould said.
Trustee Steve Witt also said he is worried about how the embezzlement scandal that occurred in nearby Roslyn, where district officials were arrested for stealing millions of taxpayer dollars, would affect the mindset of local voters, even though no such charges have been brought in Hewlett-Woodmere. "Whether we like it or not, it's out there," Witt said about how many taxpayers on Long Island are reluctant to support large budgets because of the financial scandals that occurred in Roslyn and William Floyd school districts.
The preliminary budget numbers for Hewlett-Woodmere were trimmed from $83 million two weeks ago, according to district officials who attended the April 6 budget work meeting at the Woodmere Education Center. "I could not see bringing forward a recommendation over 10 percent," said District 14 Superintendent Dr. Les Omotani. "We believe the place that we're at is appropriate."
District officials had to make the difficult decision not to include in the budget a full-time health teacher for Hewlett Elementary School, which had been discussed before. Currently, health is not included very much in the elementary school curriculum and is taught only on a pilot basis at Ogden Elementary School. "It's done in a scattered way, but not effectively," said Susan Pratt, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
"At this day and age I believe that Hewlett-Woodmere does not have [health education] being met in any way," said Dr. Omotani.
Another one of the cuts made to bring the budget to just under a 10 percent increase included the elimination of the free driver education program for students, which will now become a fee-based continuing education program instead. Dropping the driver education class will save the district $42,506, according to Weber.
The budget increase would not include many new additions to the district but would add a separate seventh grade and eighth grade boys' and girls' basketball and volleyball teams to the middle school as well expand the music program due to increasing enrollment, according to Pratt.
Currently, there are combined seventh and eighth grade teams for boys' and girls' basketball and volleyball, which means there's not enough room for many students interested as well as large teams of about 20-25 players, according to Jeff Malis, Hewlett-Woodmere athletic director. According to Witt, the cost of adding the teams to the middle school would be roughly $40,000 for the extra coaches, equipment, uniforms and transportation.
Last year, District 14 residents approved a $74.7 million budget, an 8.25 percent increase, on the first try, by 263 votes, 1,488 votes to 1,225.
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