The $250.9 million Freeport school district budget passed on Tuesday night, with 586 voters saying yes and 195 saying no.
The spending plan does not increase the district’s tax levy.
A proposition on the ballot authorizing the use of $2.5 million from the capital reserve fund for maintenance projects also passed, by a vote of 597 to 129.
The Freeport Memorial Library budget of roughly $7 million was approved by a wide margin as well, with 616 residents in favor and 159 opposed.
Board of Education candidates Beverly Jouissance and Alphonso Hardwick both ran unopposed for trustee seats previously held by Sharon Jackson and Maria Jordan-Awalom.
Jouissance garnered 498 votes, and Hardwick had 492.
Jackson and Jordan-Awalom — who will continue to serve until July — opposed the board’s decision to place superintendent Fia Davis on paid administrative reassignment for reasons that have not yet been made public.
Alice Kane, a former assistant superintendent, is serving as interim superintendent.
At a board meeting last month, Jordan-Awalom said she had “serious concerns” about the financial oversight during this year’s budget process, specifically citing what she described as excessive expenditures for special education. She was removed as chair of the Finance Committee, a decision for which she stated there was “no explanation.”
“Decisions like this not only undermine trust,” Jordan-Awalom said at the time. “They also damage the board’s credibility when it comes to financial oversight.”
The new trustees
Both new trustees bringexperience as parents of Freeport students, along with what they said are deep commitments to public service and community engagement.
Hardwick, 58, a lifelong Freeport resident and a 1984 graduate of Freeport High School, served as a volunteer firefighter for 40 years, and spent two decades on the Fire Department council. He is currently the PTA president at John W. Dodd Middle School, where his daughter is enrolled.
“I was inspired (at) a young age, going back to when I was in junior high school, to be part of the student council,” Hardwick recalled, adding that his decision to run came after prayer and reflection.
“Once I heard from God, I said, OK, it’s His will, put my name in the hat,” he said. “And here we are today, moving forward.”
Hardwick said he hoped to foster stronger communication among the board, educators, administrators and families, and that he wants there to be a greater “dialogue” between the different elements of the community.
Jouissance, 35, a Freeport resident since 2008, is a school bus driver and certified commercial driver’s license safety trainer for First Student, in Hicksville. She also coaches cheerleading, basketball, and track for the Freeport Red Ravens, a youth sport’s program, and is a sound and visual technician at her church, Bethel Freeport AME.
Jouissance is the mother of nine children, seven of whom currently attend district schools, from Head Start through high school.
“I believe that I have a lot to contribute to the community,” she said. “I want to advocate for student success and equity. I want to support teachers and parents and staff all together, and also just bringing the community together.”
She added that she hoped to strengthen school spirit across all sports and activities.
“If you were to go to a football game, a high school football game, you know that everybody’s going to come out to the high school football game,” she said. “Whether they have a child in the district, whether they have a child on the team, they’re coming out. Because that’s one of our big sports. I would like to get the community involved with other sports as well, aside from our (one major) sport, so that the children can feel encouraged to continue playing that sport.”
“Let’s begin to work together to ensure that every student in Freeport receives the education that they deserve,” Jouissance added.
The new trustees will begin their terms on July 1.
