_________________ FREEPORT _________________
CoMMuNItY uPDAtE Infections as of March 22
5,447
Infections as of March 12 5,287
$1.00
HERALD
Rotary kicks off fundraiser
Students perform at virtual event
A look inside the police academy
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Vol. 86 No. 13
MARCH 25 - 31, 2021
Reflecting on the pandemic Year of hardship gives way to renewed hope for summer normal,” and many say they hope to see life improve as the slow winter ends. A year has passed since the The winter business season Village of Freeport, along with was the last for Kevin Calhoun the rest of the world, was and Richard Duffy, of the Halfslammed by the coronavirus way Down restaurant on Woodpandemic and forced cleft Avenue, on the to deal with the Nautical Mile, after many challenges they transferred full and changes caused ownership of the by Covid-19. restaurant to their “The past year partner, Hugh Carhas proven to be an roll. incredible hardship Throughout the for the Free por t pandemic, the three community,” Mayor men adapted HalfRo b e r t Ke n n e dy way Down to social said. “We have witdistancing and nessed the failure of reduced seating, businesses, catawhile volunteering strophic number of to prepare and delivillnesses, spike in RoBERt er thousands of u n e m p l o y m e n t , KENNEDY meals for first tragic loss of lives responders. Mayor and stress and anxiCalhoun said the ety for those employpast year was trying ees considered essential while for the restaurant, and winter having to work through the pan- was a struggle, as Nautical Mile demic.” eateries saw only a handful of Freeport was among the hard- customers a day. “Things have est-hit communities in Nassau been incredibly quiet on the County, with more than 5,400 Nautical Mile,” he said. “A lot of positive cases confirmed by the places just shut down because county Department of Health as they can’t afford to stay open of Monday. with all the bills to pay but not Despite the struggles, Freeporters have adapted to the “new Continued on page 3
By RoNNY REYES rreyes@liherald.com
t
Courtesy Village of Freeport
A good deed indeed The Freeport-Merrick Rotary club donated 250 bottles of hand sanitizer to Freeport Village Hall last week to be distributed to residents and businesses. Story, Page 9.
District presents $194M budget State to provide additional aid over three years By RoNNY REYES rreyes@liherald.com
The Freeport School District presented a $194 million budget proposal for the 2021-22 school year in a series of workshops this month. If passed, the spending plan, nearly $6 million larger than the current budget, would allow the district to expand its educational services and staff slightly after a tough fiscal year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The district would also raise the tax levy for a second straight
year, but officials said they would avoid raising it to the 3 percent cap that the district is allowed, knowing the financial hardships that Freeport residents are experiencing. “The community is struggling financially due to the impacts of Covid,” said Dr. Kishore Kuncham, superintendent of schools, “and it’s our job to bring a responsible budget that understands the realities of the times.” The bulk of the budget increase comes from the $4 million raise to the district’s aca-
demic program. Salvatore Carambia, assistant superintendent for business, said district officials hoped to add 14 new staff positions next year — three teachers, three teaching assistants, two bilingual teachers, two technology support staff members, one administrator for instructional technology, two deans for Freeport High School and one dean for the J.W. Dodd Middle School. Last spring, the district hoped to add 16 new staffing positions this year, but the plans were Continued on page 3
he past year has proven to be an incredible hardship for the Freeport community.