Friday, May 1, 2020
Vol. 96, No.39
FOUNDED 1923
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LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED
Singing away the blues PAGE 20 n Zoom Bunko PAGE 17
Village budget approved, with a few objections
BIRTHDAYS IN QUARANTINE
BY RIKKI MASSAND
Birthday parties have evolved during the pandemic to include drive-by parades. Above, Peter Jackson celebrates his 11th birthday while socially distant from his friends. See page 18.
School Board discusses tech budget, experiences with distance learning BY RIKKI MASSAND Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kusum Sinha introduced the proposed Technology budget for 2020-’21 on April 21 noting that through mandated school closures since March 16, Garden City Schools continued with its 1:1 technology ini-
tiative (student to equipment) along with maintaining strong district IT infrastructure. Technology of the school district is covered under Instructional Components II, under the proposed program budget for 2020-’21 totaling $90,865,307 -- 75.15% of the overall proposed budget of
$120,913,141. In addition to ensuring network and systems cybersecurity and data privacy, the technology budget covers: curriculum and technology integration support, professional development and support, and See page 11
With seven trustees voting in favor and one opposed, the Village of Garden City’s 2020-’21 fiscal year budget of $66.2 million in appropriations was approved following a public hearing on Tuesday, April 28. The budget was modified in mid-April to cover consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and planned allocations were scaled back across several key departments. The village’s newly approved budget (running from June 1, 2020 through May 31, 2021) includes a Capital Plan of $16.2 million, setting up borrowing for $8.7 million for municipal capital projects. Given uncertainty in global financial markets and the state and regional economy, village administration noted the potential for reviews and changes to be presented and discussed during Q3 and Q4 2020 Board of Trustees’ meetings as economic situations progress. The tax levy increase for 2020-’21 of 1.78% well below the state tax cap. Because Garden City’s limit would be calculated including its tax base growth factor, for 2020-’21 the village would be allowed to assess an additional $784,000 in real property taxes (to bring the maximum allowable levy to 3.78%). The approved budget includes $55.4 million in operating expenses and $750,000 in termination reserves to pay former village employees. The budget-to-budget increase from 2019-2020 is $82,000 -- a 0.13% increase. Village Treasurer Irene Woo provided a budget overview April 28: “Various iterations of the budget have been presented through our six work sessions. This budget is relatively flat, year-over-year. Proposed appropriations are to be funded through a current year surplus of $1.1 million, currently there is $750,000 allocated, and other estimated revenues of $12.1 million and the tax levy (portion funded by property taxes) of $52.3 million. The vast majority of Capital Projects in the $16.2 million Capital Plan represent investments in infrastructure -- about $4.4 million to roads, curbs, sidewalks -- $2.1 million for equipment purchases across various departments, and building improvements of $7.9 million with investments in HVAC, roofs, Village Hall’s repointing and abatement at St. Paul’s, among other projects.” She spoke about five months of preparation and the major curveball thrown into Garden City and every other New York municipality’s fiscal planning, with the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the region, emerSee page 11
Additional money allocated for water treatment PAGE 3 Garden City HS junior starts letter writing campaign PAGE 4