By ANTHONY BOTTAN
Dr. Melissa Burak, the district's superintendent of business, explained that because of restrictions on how federal stimulus money can be used, the budget, as well as the tax levy increase -- 4.53 percent as of now -- are subject to change.
The district will receive around $345,000 in federal funding, which is earmarked for special education, and will have $1 million in state aid restored. "We will not know the exact impact on the homeowner until all the factors are received from the county," Burak said. "We are still awaiting the adjusted base proportion, as well as the final assessed value."
The adjusted base proportion is the percentage of the tax levy that homeowners in the district pay, which is determined by Nassau County. The final assessed value is the value of a resident's home, also determined by the county. Burak said she expects to get those final numbers from the county by May 1.
She added that 20 staff positions were eliminated in the proposed budget, as well as some clubs and elective courses that had low enrollment. "If an interest in a club was not shown, we did not continue it for next year," she said. One program the district had to cut was a pilot laptop class it inaugurated this year for fifth-graders, who would have taken it for four additional years.
The district will also cut an elective, daytime SAT prep course, but Barbarino said that school officials will look into bringing back an evening SAT course.
Also up for vote on May 17 is Proposition 2, which would use $375,000 of the district's capital reserve for three projects: a new roof and air conditioning upgrades for the North Middle School, new bleachers for the high school and a new boiler for the Kindergarten Center.
School board President Cathy Papandrew said that this year's budget process has been more difficult than prior years, but the board has worked hard to create a fiscally sound spending plan. "In this most difficult economic climate we had to make tough decisions," Papandrew said. "First-most, we kept the educational needs of students, but also had to take into account that we wanted to deliver a budget that would not be financially unreasonable."
The board will adopt a final version of the budget on April 21.
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