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Schools

Lynbrook BOE Presents 2012-13 Budget at Hearing

Budget will see 2.156 percent increase, according to presentation.

 

The Lynbrook Union Free School District officially presented the budget for the 2012-13 school year prior to Wednesday’s regular Board of Education meeting at .

On May 15, the voting public will be asked to approve a budget of $74,468,696. This is an increase of 2.156 percent, according to a presentation given by Lynbrook Assistant Superintendent for Business Dr. Melissa Burak.

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The final figure falls below the tax levy cap mandated by the state. Through the calculations of a complicated formula, Lynbrook’s tax levy limit was 2.36 percent. The current budget carries a tax levy of 2.34 percent, or $64,423,666, according to the presentation.

“School districts faced a greater challenge this year than we ever have,” Burak said of the tax cap. “...The tax cap put a limit on what we were able to do. We had to first create the tax levy limit number and then we worked within the confines of that."

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Many of the individual budget line categories saw minor decreases. Central administration, facilities and capital, communications, fine and performing arts, athletics, special education, debt, and special programs such as adult education and summer high school all saw small decreases, according to the presentation. 

Burak also presented three other propositions that will be voted on by the public. 

Proposition two will ask for permission for $98,000 to be removed from the technology replacement reserve fund. This money will pay for upgrades to switches and servers, printer and monitor upgrades, and the transformation of the high school art technology lab into a Macintosh platform. Approval of this proposition will have no effect on the tax levy, according to the presentation. 

Proposition three will ask for the extension of the Technology Replacement Fund. That current reserve is set to expire on June 30. Once expired, the district would not be allowed to replenish the fund. A yes vote would allow the district to continue to put money away towards eventual technology upgrades, according to Burak.

The approval of a fourth proposition would allow the district to remove $5,550,000 from the capital reserve fund. This would pay for an elevator, music rooms, exterior restroom, district storage space, and sod field space at . It would also fund the relocation of the baseball field to , improve track and field facilities at South, and install a turf field at , according to the presentation.

Proposition four caused the most controversy during the public portion of the hearing. Three residents spoke up against the relocation of the baseball fields, saying it would cause too much of a disruption at their Starks Place homes.

Some Starks Place homes border the southwest corner of the South Middle School field. A prior baseball field in the proposed location caused an abundance of unwanted foul balls in backyards, an uncomfortable smell, and constant noise, according to the three unhappy voters.

“We would still like a quality of life,” one resident said.   

Polling on May 15 will take place from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m at , , and , according to the board. 

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