By Anthony Rifilato
While the official school budget has been voted for by the public, a number of items included within the budget were discussed.
Of those was the adoption of the $63.7 million tax levy, which includes the Baldwin Public Library. The levy had been lowered after the district received an additional $2 million in state education aid.
The board also updated several policies, such as budget transfers. The policy, which hasn't been updated since 1988, now allows the superintendent to authorize up to $10,000 per month to be used for unexpected expenses. The funds would come out of one code of the budget, such as those allocated for printing costs, and into another, such as supplies. Anything beyond $10,000 would require board approval, though School Board President James Scannell emphasized that "all transfers are shown to the board."
Also adopted was the appointment of Thomas Cigna, the new assistant superintendent for business and administrative services, whose duties will include budgeting, finance, insurance and purchasing, among others.
Following recent school board elections, the board announced that it will implement computer software for the 2003-04 school year that will ease check-ins before voting. The software, called EDP, is the same program used by Sanitary District No. 2 and the Baldwin Fire Department during their elections.
Instead of waiting on long lines while a volunteer searches for a resident's name, voters now have the convenience of going to the shortest line and having their names entered in a computer before proceeding to vote in a booth.
Earlier in the meeting, board member B.A. Schoen noted the recent victory in the Campaign For Fiscal Equity lawsuit, in which a judge ruled that the state must raise the bar for education.
"What we have to do at this point is to protect school districts like Baldwin and get our fair share of state aid," Schoen said.
Dates to remember
Freshman Orientation: Wednesday, Aug. 27
First day of school: Wednesday, Sept. 3
Next board meeting: Wednesday, Sept. 10 at the District Office
Town Meeting with County Executive Tom Suozzi to discuss economic development: Wednesday, Sept. 17 at BSHS
