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Friday, April 26, 2024
Vol. 12, No. 17
KIDS GUIDE
ROSLYN CENTRAL TO TRANSMISSION PROJECT
PAGES 21-28
PAGE 2
State aid to schools rises in budget deal
RMS PIE FUNDRAISER
Nassau County districts to receive overall 5.69% boost in funding Nassau County schools will receive a year-to-year 5.69% boost in state aid, with a majority of North Shore districts seeing increases from the prior year and from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s initial proposal. The New York State Legislature adopted the 2024-2025 $237 billion state budget nearly three weeks late Saturday, which encompassed an additional $1.3 billion in school state aid and the continuation of the foundation aid Hold Harmless policy. Overall, more than $35.3 billion is being allocated to schools throughout the state, increasing by 3.82% from the prior year. Also adopted in the budget is a 421-p tax incentive to construct housing outside New York City, including $650 million in discretionary funds for pro-housing communities, $500 million for the construction of up to 15,000 new homes on state land and incentives for accessory dwelling units. The school aid increase comes after months of pushback from local school districts opposing the governor’s proposal to repeal Hold Harmless, a procedure that ensures school districts receive the same amount or
more in foundation aid from year to year. But with all school districts adopting budgets before the state budget passage, it is uncertain how these late school aid numbers will impact their budgets. The Manhasset School District was at the forefront in advocating for the continuation of the Hold Harmless policy, with nearly every budget meeting including a push for residents to advocate for the re-implementation and to reach out to their representatives. The district was facing a $629,000, or 20.7%, drop in its foundation aid. Yet it crafted its budget on the assumption that these funds would be restored. If it was not restored, then its fallback was fulfilling those $629,000 in missing funds with FEMA recovery funds. The Manhasset School District will now be receiving the largest proportional increase in state aid with a 25.4% boost. In total, it will be getting $6,318,661 in state aid, a $1,279,686 increase from the prior year. The state aid numbers are based on state legislation as reported by Newsday. The state aid numbers represent the total state aid, with breakContinued on Page 44
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSLYN SCHOOL DISTRICT
Roslyn Middle School students pie their administrators in the face to raise money for the high school food pantry.
3 N. Shore candidates running uncontested B Y T A Y L O R H E R Z L I C H Trustee Marianne Russo, the elected The North Shore School District will hold an uncontested trustee election May 21, with incumbent Trustees Lisa Colacioppo, Maria Mosca and newcomer James Svendsen running for three seats on the board. Due to the sudden resignation of
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trustee with the lowest number of votes will finish out the rest of her unfinished term and serve a shortened period on the board for one year. The other two elected trustees will serve three-year long terms. The deadline to file a petition to run for the board of trustees closed Monday at 5 p.m.
vote
District residents are set to vote on the proposed budget and elect three trustees May 21 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the North Shore High School at 450 Glen Cove Ave., Glen Head. An issue top of mind for candidates is the $2 million loss of LIPA tax contributions due to a recent settleContinued on Page 38
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