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Vol. 30 No. 11
MARCH 9 - 15, 2023
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Racing toward better education Foundation hosts 7th annual 5K, to raise money for school grants By BEN FIEBERT bfiebert@liherald.com
Courtesy EastRockawayedFoundation.org
SEAN ANd THERESA Lynch running in the 2017 Education Foundation 5K. This year’s race is March 25.
When the clock strikes 8:30 a.m. on March 25, Hewlett Bay will be a beautiful backdrop for participants as they take off on an annual 5K run across East Rockaway for a good cause. The East Rockaway Education Foundation is hosting its seventh annual 5K, which will start and finish at 130 Hewlett Point Ave. For the first time, Elitefeats will time the run, which will also be available to those who want to participate virtually. EREF Director Vera
Gallagher said she hoped there would be a high turnout for this year’s run to provide EREF with funds to present to the East Rockaway Public Schools. “We provide grants for teachers and staff so that they can have a positive impact on students in the district,” Gallagher said. The EREF is a 501c nonprofit, and raises funds that get redistributed back into the school district. The organization, however, is a separate entity, not directly affiliated with the district. Continued on page 20
Lynbrook schools propose budget to avoid ‘financial cliff’ By BEN FIEBERT bfiebert@liherald.com
The 2023-24 proposed $101.8 million Lynbrook School District budget was created to soften the blow of the eventual loss in financial aid from New York state over the next few years. Paul Lynch, the district’s assistant superintendent for finance, presented the proposed spending plan at a budget work session on March 1. The Lynbrook Board of Education was there with Lynch to publicly deliberate the proposed budget and vote to remove or add certain items if need be. The district’s proposed $101.8
million spending plan is 5.1 percent larger than this year’s $96.9 million budget. The increase in the tax levy — the amount that the district can raise in revenue through property taxes — will fall under the state’s allowable limit by about $1.5 million. The estimated tax levy increase is 2.6 percent, which technically exceeds the state cap of 2 percent, but the proposed budget has multiple exclusions that will allow it to be approved with a simple majority. According to Lynch, state aid will drop considerably next year. He is not only focusing on next year’s budget, but is hoping to alleviate the financial burdens
T
his is the single most important budget that I have prepared in 10 years.
PAul lyNCH
assistant superintendent for finance in future budgets. This is why the 2023-24 budget is nearly $5 million more than the current year’s. “This is the single most important budget that I have prepared in 10 years,” Lynch said.
“There is so much in this budget, and so many mistakes that could be made at this juncture with the budget, that it’s kind of scary.” The spending plan is large because of aid from the federal government and the state due to the coronavirus pandemic. “All of that is about to end,” Lynch said. “The board has done
a three-year plan to make sure that financial cliff in 2025 does not happen.” With a projected increase of 24 percent, or $19 million, state aid greatly influenced this proposed budget. State aid helped the school integrate multiple programs in the budget. “The wonderful Owl Success AcadeContinued on page 7