Serving New Hyde Park, Floral Park, Garden City Park, North Hills, Manhasset Hills and North New Hyde Park
$1.50
Friday, March 15, 2024
Vol. 73, No. 11
N E W H Y D E PA R K
GUIDE TO SCHOOLS, EDUCATION & CAMPS PAGES 23-30
St. Aidan’s saints’ day concert
TOWN MAKES OFFICIAL GOP PICKS ASSEMBLYMAN DECISION ON ISLAMIC CENTER TO OPPOSE SUOZZI PAGE 2
PAGE 6
GIRL SCOUTS IN GOVERNMENT
Blends traditional, popular music BY TAY L O R H E R Z L I C H The St. Aidan’s Church choir and orchestra is hosting their annual St. Patrick and St. Joseph concert on March 10 at 3 p.m. in honor of the upcoming saints’ days. The concert will feature traditional Irish and Italian music along with more recognizable, pop music. The songs will be performed by professional musicians and The Heavenly Choir, a volunteer chorus of more than 20 singers that has been performing at the church for around 25 years. The choir sings nearly every Sunday during 12 p.m. mass at the church. “We’re [all] volunteers because we love to sing. Bottom line,” said Joseph Mariani, a long-standing member of the choir. The Heavenly Choir has some talented soloists, including Reagan Stone, a Mineola resident and cantor at the church. Stone was a resident at the Harrt School opera house and has performed in many musicals around the country. Now, she is a music teacher at St. Aidan School. “[Stone] is an absolutely fantastic soprano,” said Mariani. “You really have to listen to her.” Stone is not the only cantor-soloist to stun audiences. Greg Mercer also has a background in opera and has been perContinued on Page 42
PHOTO COURTESY OF TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD RECEIVER JEANINE C. DRISCOLL
Girl scouts participate in Government Day in the Incorporated Village of Malverne.
Herricks’ 2.38% tax levy hits cap District faces financial challenges amid lawsuits with 5.2% budget increase BY TAY L O R H E R Z L I C H Herricks School District board members continued to emphasize that the district faces budgetary challenges for next year due to costs from settling sexual abuse claims against the district. The district is facing a number of lawsuits filed under the Child Victims
Act, which extended the statute of limitations for survivors of child sex abuse. There are currently two trials against Herricks being heard by a jury in Nassau County Supreme Court. The plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages for alleged abuse by a past school employee, Vincent Festa. The district has paid $1.1 million to settle four of 21 claims thus far. “In terms of general support, we are looking at a $4 million increase this year,” said Lisa Rutkoske, the district’s assistant superintendent for business. “That [increase] is really driven primarily by, as we have shared previously, the claims and legal fees associated with those
claims.” General support includes costs associated with claims and legal support, cybersecurity, insurance, security and utilities. The proposed 2024-2025 budget for the district is $141,710,364. This number is up a whopping 5.2% from the approved 2023-2024 budget of $134,719,970. The budget-to-budget increase is $6,990,394. Without the costs being allocated toward legal fees, the budget would only increase by 3.25% as opposed to 5.2%. The district is set to receive an estimated $27 million in state aid according to Rutkoske, which will be the district’s second largest revenue
funding source. This is an increase from the district’s 2023-2024 state aid, which was an estimated $25 million. “We were fortunate as a district,” said Rutkoske. “We are seeing an increase.” The proposed tax levy is up 2.38% last year, from a tax levy of $104,763,474 in 2023-2024 to a proposed tax levy of $107,258,592. This budget-to-budget difference represents an increase of $2,495,118. This proposed 2.38% tax levy increase goes up to the tax levy cap, which is the highest percentage by which a district can increase its tax levy from year to year. Continued on Page 43