Much at stake in Tuesday's school budget vote

    As a result of the grim economy, it appears that many taxpayers in Malverne and West Hempstead are paying extra-close attention to their school districts’ proposed budgets this year. They eye every decrease, question every increase and study areas of potential change in the hope of keeping spending low and savings high.
    Many residents attended budget workshops held by the boards of education throughout the past few months, offering their own input and making suggestions for improvement. They were expected to turn out in high numbers for the May 11 budget hearings held by the school districts to get community feedback and allow taxpayers to get a better understanding of the budget proposals.
    But the true test of how important the spending plans are to residents will come next Tuesday.
    Voter turnout is key, according to West Hempstead Union Free School District Superintendent John Hogan. If voters do not approve a proposed budget, the school board has one month to rework its proposal before offering it to voters again. If that proposal also fails, the district must adopt a contingency budget.
    Hogan urged voters to get informed before going to the polls. He suggested they utilize the district’s website to get more information about the budget and its effect on taxes, or e-mail votemay18@whufsd.com with questions.
    Joyce Berry, president of the PTA at Malverne’s Davison Avenue Elementary School, believes taxpayers can only benefit by being informed. The budget proposed this year by the Malverne school board is a conservative one, in Berry’s opinion, and she wants people to closely examine it to see that for themselves.
    “I’m hoping that people really take the time to read — read all of it, not read what you want to read, but read the whole thing,” Berry said. “If you read the whole thing, you’re going to be, like, ‘Oh, yeah. It really isn’t a lot of money.’”