By Andrew Coen
Voters rejected the initial proposed budget by more than 800 votes on May 17.
As of press time, the school board was weighing a range of budget increases, from a high of 7.25 percent to a low of 4.8 percent over the current $74.7 million budget. The school board will hold a public forum on June 1, when community input will be taken into consideration before the new budget is adopted that evening.
The initial proposed budget of $81.8 million, a 9.57 percent increase, fell by 811 votes, a count of 2,334 to 1,523, on May 17. The initial proposed budget represented a 10.93 percent tax levy hike, making it one of the largest increases in Nassau County. District officials attributed the budget increases mainly to mandated costs beyond their control, including hikes in the teachers' retirement system, health insurance, special education and utilities.
All the proposals presented by district officials to the school board were given during a special emergency meeting called on Memorial Day evening and featured the elimination of the plan to fund four new separate seventh and eighth-grade teams, which district officials had hoped to implement next year to give more Woodmere Middle School students opportunities to participate in athletics. Also, a plan to provide two extra staff members to expand the music program probably will not be included in the new budget proposal, according to Assistant Superintendent Dr. Peter Weber.
"Every cut we have here is a cut we did not want to have to make," said Dr. Weber during the meeting.
District officials are also proposing to reduce the morning bus runs to Hewlett High School from one to two, as well as reducing expenses for conferences and travel and buildings and grounds.
One of the proposals district officials are considering, according to a brochure outlining tentative budget recommendations, would be an $80.2 million, 7.25 percent budget increase, which would reduce by 12 the number of faculty members in the district. A $79.8 million, 6.71 percent budget increase would slash 14.3 faculty positions, according to the brochure. The estimated tax levy increase for a 7.25 percent budget hike would be 8.4 percent, and a 6.71 percent budget increase would see a 7.78 percent tax levy hike.
Another proposal outlined by Weber at the Memorial Day work meeting included a $78.9 million, 5.72 percent budget increase, which, if adopted, would mean closing the Hewlett High School pool. It would also mean no more middle school or high school swim teams and the current swimming instructional program would be discontinued as well as the summer swimming recreation program. Also under a 5.72 percent increase scenario, all the Woodmere Middle School and Hewlett High School athletic teams would be limited to their league schedules, meaning no pre-season games or holiday tournaments. One library specialist would also be shared between the two elementary schools, Ogden and Hewlett, according to district officials. A 5.72 percent budget increase would mean a tax levy hike of 6.54 percent before adjusting for the lost revenues, according to district officials.
Under another proposal, which would represent a $79.3 million, 6.2 percent budget increase, the swimming pool would be closed, but the summer recreation programs, instructional programs and the middle and high school swim teams would be kept and allowed to use the pool. However, the Hewlett swim club, weekend swim lessons and public use of the pool likely would be slashed in a 6.2 percent increase, meaning the loss of revenues for the district, according to Dr. Weber. A 6.2 percent budget increase would also cut $85,000 in operational overtime, meaning the potential loss of evening events held in district buildings, such as dances, plays and athletic events. The 6.2 percent budget hike would carry an estimated tax levy of 7.1 percent, according to the brochure.
The entire $865,000 worth of capital and maintenance projects proposed in the initial $81.8 million budget would remain with the exception of plans to replace the tennis nets and resurface the tennis courts at Hewlett High School, which district officials have said are badly in need of repair. Putting off the project at the tennis courts, which are frequently used by residents, will cut $163,000 from the original budget, Weber said. The projects that district officials plan to keep in the budget revote include the replacement of the heating pipes at Ogden Elementary School and Franklin Early Childhood Center, repair of the Woodmere Middle School roof and replacement of a set of doors by the middle school auditorium that are old and worn, as well as the replacement of the high school's fuel tank monitoring system. "All the rest we believe are essential repairs," said Weber.
Weber also mentioned the possibility of a 4.8 percent budget increase, saying that such a proposal would mean substantial cuts in programs and staff. If the budget were to fail on the second try, the district would be forced to operate on a contingency budget, which allows an increase of no more than 3.5 percent and could result in staff reductions, increased class sizes and scaled-back programs, according to district officials.
The last time a budget failed was in 1995 but the budget passed on a revote.
After a community input forum on the tentative District 14 budget at the Hewlett High School auditorium at 7 p.m. June 1, the new budget will be adopted that night and a review session on the new proposal will take place on Tuesday, June 14 at 9 p.m. at the Woodmere Education Center. Voting on the June 21 Hewlett-Woodmere revote will take place from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Woodmere Education Center, One Johnson Place.
Lawrence budget revote
Since District 15 voters also defeated Lawrence's budget proposal on May 17, the district will try to avoid a third straight year of austerity with a revote scheduled for Wednesday, June 15. The proposed new budget of $88.4 million, a 3.5 percent increase from the current budget, is $1,600 less than a contingency budget, according to district officials. District 15 voters rejected the initial proposed budget of $89.3 million, a 4.54 percent increase, by 397 votes, 3,826 to 3,429
A budget review session for District 15's new proposal will be held on Tuesday, June 7 at 8 p.m. at Lawrence Middle School. The June 15 Lawrence budget revote will occur from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Number Six School in Woodmere, Lawrence High School in Cedarhurst, Number Two School in Inwood, Lawrence Middle School and Atlantic Beach Village Hall.
Comments about this story? Acoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
