By Mary Malloy and Anthony Bottan
East Rockaway's $32.7 million budget got the go-ahead from residents with a 576-488 vote. It is 2.28 percent larger than the district's current spending plan, and increases the local tax levy more than 8 percent.
"I am absolutely overwhelmed by the support of the community," said Superintendent Dr. Roseanne Mellucci. "I feel so privileged to have their support. Our children are going to continue to have whatever they need to learn next year."
"In these difficult times, it's good to see that we still put education first," said outgoing board President Mary Boccuzzi. "It's my last term, and this is a nice way to go out."
Michaelene Abbott-Cooper will be taking over the seat vacated by Boccuzzi, thanks to 110 write-in votes. Abbott-Cooper threw her hat into the ring after the April 20 petition deadline for the seat, and, through the Herald and her network of friends and supporters, got the word out that she was interested in the position.
"I can't be more excited for the children," Abbott-Cooper said. "Good things are going to happen." An East Rockaway High School alumna, she is the recording secretary for the East Rockaway Education Foundation Inc. and has two sons at Rhame Avenue Elementary School.
Two other write-in candidates, Phyllis Bongiorno and Steve Fried, received 43 and 5 votes, respectively.
One voter, Barbara Stern, said of the results, "I'm a senior citizen whose children are no longer in school, but I have grandchildren in three different school districts. It is unconscionable to ever vote no on a school budget. That would be tantamount to voting against the education and the future of all children. To force a school district to operate under an austerity budget is a negative signal to children."
Lynbrook
After a hotly contested school board race in Lynbrook last year, this year's election was a bit more subdued. Incumbents Cathy Papandrew and Robert Paskoff each garnered more than 1,000 votes to keep their seats on the board, while newcomer Sean Strife collected 964 votes to earn his first term on the board.
The $68.6 million 2009-10 school budget passed by a margin of 975-598, and Proposition Two was also approved, 985-447. The proposition calls for the district to use $1.375 million of its capital reserve fund to replace the North Middle School roof and air-conditioning, bleachers at the high schools, and the Atlantic Avenue/Kindergarten Center boiler.
Papandrew, who won her third term on the board, said her first priority would be to balance the needs of the community and the students. "We want to keep the highest quality of education for the students," she said "and in light of these hard economic times, we did a good job of keeping in mind the needs of the community and the students in our district."
Strife echoed Papandrew's sentiments. "We have to find the common ground," he said. "We have to make sure the taxpayers are represented, but at the same time, the students' needs aren't compromised."
Paskoff, who will begin his second term on the board, said he wants to make sure the district can stay ahead of the curve so that its students have the best opportunity to succeed. "We want to make sure we keep the academic excellence, programs and sports," he said, "while maintaining the best possible tax rate that we can."
Comments about this story? ABottan@
liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.
