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MAY 15 - 21, 2025
Uniondale prepares for budget vote By STACY DRIKS sdriks@liherald.com
Courtesy Kellenberg Memorial High School
Peggy York, far left, Father Dan Griffin, Father Tom Cardone, and Alex Basile gathered at the television studio at Kellenberg High School, and offered their commentary on Pope Leo XIV.
Kellenberg High students react to new pontiff By JORDAN VALLONE and STACY DRIKS of the Herald
“Oh my goodness, he’s an American!” That was all Father Dan Griffin, chaplain of Kellenberg Memorial High School’s Brother Joseph C. Fox Latin School, could say during a livestreamed event after the cardinals in the Vatican selected Robert Francis Prevost as the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on May 8. “It all developed very quickly. We hadn’t planned it,” Griffin said. “I went down to the normal P.A. system and rang the bells, and we have real bells in the pavilion, and then I announced that there was white smoke, and we had a new pope.” “I can’t tell you how so many times in two days they were walking by my office and saying, ‘Is there white smoke yet?’” Griffin added, referring to the Latin school students.
“They were very into the whole tradition of the church and the conclave.” After the white smoke appeared, the classrooms’ internal TV system livestreamed the event, and students waited for about an hour before Pope Leo XIV appeared. As they waited, Griffin, teacher Peggy York, Chaplain Father Tom Cardone, and chairman of the religion department Alex Basile — all members of the Apostolic Response at Kellenberg, or ARK, team — sat at a round table in the school’s television studio, offering live commentary. Griffin said that when he heard the new pope’s name, he knew right away he was American, but he described it as a surreal moment, especially because he shared it with the student body. “It’s a good teaching moment,” he said. “Bringing the gospel to all people, not just ConTInueD on PAGe 23
Uniondale residents will head to the polls on May 20 to vote on the proposed $286 million school budget for 2025-26, elect two Board of Education trustees, and weigh in on a proposition involving major capital projects. Both incumbent board members, Addie Blanco-Harvey and Alvin McDaniel, are running unopposed in this year’s election. Administrators in the Uniondale School District stressed the importance of passing this year’s school budget, which is essential to maintaining and growing programs that help students thrive — especially those who need extra academic support. “Residents vote for the budget — they either support it or they vote it down,” Superintendent Monique Darrisaw-Akil said. “That’s a pretty big deal.” If Uniondale voters reject the proposed budget, the district could either put the same budget up for a second vote or make revisions to it before placing it before voters once again. However, if the spending plan fails a second time, the district would be forced to operate under a contingency budget, which
Where to vote For more information, contact the office of the District Clerk at (516) 560-8945 or by email at sedwards@uniondaleschools.org you can also find your local poll at tinyurl.com/ FindMyuniPoll25 — Stacy Driks
would limit spending to only essential, contractually obligated costs — and do without new programs, the expanded use of facilities, while facing significant cuts to non-mandated services like after-school programs. Under a contingency plan, the overall level of services and student support would be reduced to the “bare minimum,” according to the superintendent. One of two propositions on the May 20 ballot is the proposed $286 million budget, which has grown from $235.9 million over the past four years. During budget presentations ConTInueD on PAGe 7