_______ Lynbrook/east rockaway ______
HERALD Also serving Bay Park
VoL. 31 No. 22
Firefighters put out deck fire
Local Scouts host food drive
Page 4
Page 10
MAY 23 - 29, 2024
$1.00
Election 2024
Education board gets new trustees Maureen Doyle, Joseph Lores win seats on East Rockaway board, while Sean Murray, Lesli Deninno, Shannon Kelly were winners for the Lynbrook board By BEN FIEBERT bfiebert@liherald.com
Tim Baker/Herald
Centre Avenue turns 100 Alumni of Centre Avenue Elementary School celebrated its 100th anniversary last Saturday. Among the attendees were Michael Stern, from the sixth-grade class of 1975; his sister, Lisa Stern Burch, sixth-grade class of 1977, at right; and their mother, Barbara Stern, a past president and secretary of the PTA. More photos, Page 3.
These scholar-athletes know how to balance academics and sports By BEN FIEBERT bfiebert@liherald.com
The East Rockaway school district announced that each of the five winter varsity teams has earned Scholar-Athlete team status, and 41 athletes from those squads have been named Scholar-Athletes. The honors come from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, which requires student-athletes to maintain a grade point average of at least 90, and for a team to earn the title, 75 percent or more of the roster must have GPAs of at least 90. The East Rockaway High School boys’ and girls’ varsity basket-
ball team, the cheer team and the boys’ and girls’ varsity winter track teams achieved this recognition for their outstanding academic performance. Gary Gregory, director of physical education, health, and athletics, explained that last year, every team but one in fall, winter and spring earned this status. This year, only two fall teams were recognized as scholar-athletes, but he noted that 100 percent of the winter teams received the honor. “I’ve been here several years, coaching the sport, and we earned scholar-athletes, but I would say these are the most responsible stuContinued on page 5
Community members in both East Rockaway and Lynbrook voted on their school district’s proposed budget Tuesday evening. With a total of 382 yes votes and 152 no votes, the East Rockaway School District’s budget passed. Proposition 2-capital reserve funds for technology, and Proposition 3-energy efficiency measures, also passed. Maureen Doyle was elected as trustee to fill a pre-existing term from May 21 to June 30, 2025. Joseph Lores was also voted into the board as trustee and he will serve for three years, starting at the end of June. With a total of 1,110 yes votes and 318 no votes, the Lynbrook Public Schools’ budget passed. Proposition 2-technolog y replacement fund, and Proposition 3-facilities and capital reserves fund, also passed. Lesli Deninno and Sean
Mur ray were re-elected as tr ustees on the education board. Shannon Kelly was also elected as a new board member. The East Rockaway spending plan, which was adopted on April 16, is $1.3 million — or 3 percent — larger than the 2023 to 2024 budget, and would stay below the state’s tax cap with a 2 percent tax levy increase. The proposed 2024 to 2025 budget maintains all current levels of instructional programs, extracurricular activities, and professional development in addition to supporting the new proposed programs. T he Lynbrook spending plan, which was adopted on April 16, is $4.5 million larger than the 2023 to 2024 budget, and would stay below the state’s tax cap. In the budget, $2.7 million of the reserves will be used, which is an increase of $1.25 million. Paul Lynch, superintendent of Lynbrook School District, said that the district is fortunate to not have to layoff staff or cut programs due to the use of the reserve funds.