First School Board Meeting of 2011 All Business

As the snow from last week's snowstorm — which postponed last week's school board meeting — continued to slowly melt on Wednesday, the Lynbrook Board of Education met in the high school cafeteria for its first public meeting of 2011.

It was also the first meeting since newly elected Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave his , in which he confirmed rumors that he favored a cap on property tax increases — a proposal that will likely make its way into Cuomo's executive budget, a rough draft of which is due Feb. 1.

The specs of said proposal will be capping property tax increases — property taxes are comprised mostly of school expenses on Long Island — at 2 percent or a to-be-determined percent of the rate of inflation, whichever is less. The only exception to the rule is if local governments, individually, with a 60-percent majority of its citizens, vote otherwise during an election or special situations that have not yet been clearly defined beyond “extraordinary legal or capital expenditures” — and it has made many school boards across the state nervous.

The Lynbrook school board refrained from discussing the proposal in detail at Wednesday's meeting, but referred to it a few times, and indicated that it would be a subject of the three upcoming budget work sessions (Feb. 16, March 2, and March 23).

“If there is a tax cap, we will have to be prepared,” said school board President Catherine Papandrew. And although the cap seems inevitable, Papandrew added, the nature of the measure cannot yet be precisely known.

All told, the business of the meeting took less than an hour, and was divulged swiftly. Other points of interest are as follows:

• Three changes to district policy were announced. They include: an alteration to record-keeping procedure; minimum grade requirements for students to remain in honors/AP classes; and the addition of the phrase “conduct that endangers the safety, morals, health or welfare of oneself or others” in the district's Code of Conduct.

• School board Trustee Alicemarie Bresnihan will represent the district at the second of two BOCES budgetary reviews on Jan. 27, to vote on its administrative budget.

• It was also announced that parking problems at Marion Street School have been solved after the East Rockaway village board loosened restrictions on parking where the village borders school property, to accommodate faculty.

• At the Feb. 16 budget work session, salaries, benefits, central administration, debt and inter-fund transfers will be covered. On March 2, it will be buildings, communications, arts, athletics, special services, and facilities for special programs. And on March 23, a summary will be given of expenditures and revenue.

• The board unanimously approved the retirements of teachers Dorothea Roper, Hellen Tai, and Margaret Hanan. The three could not make it to Wednesday's meeting, but will be honored at the next one.

• The board unanimously accepted a $230 NEFCU grant for supplies for projects in the high school fashion class.

The next regular meeting of the Lynbrook Board of Education will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 7:30 a.m.