_________________ WANTAGH ________________
HERALD Vol. 73 No. 20
Honoring a historian
Career day at Gardiners Ave.
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MAY 15 - 21, 2025
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Building fields in William’s memory By CHARlES SHAW cshaw@liherald.com
Holden Leeds/Herald
Rock band Vinyl Revival performed during a May 8 raffle fundraiser at Mulcahy’s to support the effort to build artificial-turf fields in memory of Wantagh High School student William Desroches.
In an effort to build a pair of artificial-turf fields in memory of William Desroches — the Wantagh High School student who died in a watercraft accident in 2023 — friends, family and supporters kicked off their first fundraiser on May 8. Launched in January, the William Desroches Foundation was created to raise funds for new turf fields for soccer and lacrosse next to Forest Lake Elementary School’s baseball field. According to Donald Desroches, William’s father, his ContinueD on page 10
Seaford School District proposes $85.1 million spending plan By CHARlES SHAW cshaw@liherald.com
Residents of the Seaford Union Free School District will head to the polls next week to vote on a budget that includes facility upgrades, classroom renovations and infrastructure improvements, all without exceeding the state’s tax levy cap. The $85.1 million spending plan, adopted last month, is 1.93 percent larger than the current budget and includes a tax levy increase of about 2.49 percent — well under the cap. According to Andrew Casale, the district’s assistant superintendent
for business and operations, the levy is also lower than the average projected levy in Nassau County, which is around 2.55 percent. “We always try to provide taxpayers with the most relief possible,” Casale said at an April 9 Board of Education meeting, “and this year we are not maxing out our levy.” State aid for the 2025-26 budget, according to Casale, is estimated to be around $19.4 million, an increase of roughly 0.7 percent over the current year. Capital projects will include upgrades to playgrounds at Seaford Manor Elementary School such as artificial turf replace-
ment and the addition of inclusive playground equipment. Additional projects include renovations to the Career Development/Life Skills Program classroom and library at the middle school, renovations to high school cafeteria B, and the installation of a dust collection system in the high school’s woodshop. In addition to the budget, voters will be asked to approve two propositions to use reserve funds for infrastructure, safety and security improvements. According to Casale, both propositions would come at no additional cost to taxpayers. “This is money that we have
saved,” he noted. “It’s not money that we have to go out and ask the community for or levy.” Proposition 2 would authorize the use of up to $1 million from the 2018 capital reserve fund for the installation of a door-ajar alarm system at the middle and high schools, districtwide security camera upgrades and additions and
renovations to the high school elevator. Proposition 3 would authorize the use of up to $6.5 million from the district’s 2024 capital reserve fund for roof improvements at the Harbor and Manor elementary schools. At the April 9 meeting, Casale displayed photos taken after a recent rainstorm that showed ContinueD on page 7