_________
Oceanside/island park
________
HERALD
Property tax savings for our neighbors and friend s.
Get Results. Sign Up To day!
Island Park has a new principal
Robotics team advances
Page 8
Page 14
Vol. 58 No. 14
MARCH 30 - APRIl 5, 2023
DEADLINE APRIL 3RD
LAST CHANCE
THE LEADER IN PROP ERTY TAX REDUCT ION Sign up today. It onl y takes seconds. Apply online at mptrg .com/heraldnote or call 516.715.1266
$1.00
Maidenbaum Property
Tax Reduction Grou
p, LLC 483 Chestnut
Hablamos Español Street, Cedarhurst, NY 11516
OHS prioritizes mental health Wellness Center offers everything from meditation to therapy dogs By KARINA KoVAC and FARRAH SAlAZAR of the Herald
Karina Kovac/Herald
StudeNtS PlAyINg A relaxing game of Uno in the new Wellness Center as its coordinator, school psychologist Nina Weisenreder, right, looks on. ‘Ways to Manage Stress,’ and suggestions for doing so, are written on the whiteboard in the background.
The new Oceanside High School Wellness Center did not have an opening day celebration, because it continues to be an ongoing collaboration among the school’s students. The space — which features solo and group activities, mediation, yoga, special events and, every Thursday, therapy dogs — is open to anyone during their off periods, and, on average, 200 students a day pop in to recharge.
Activities at the center are coordinated by OHS’s school psychologist for the past 19 years, Nina Weisenreder. Diane Provvido, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and research, came up with the idea for such a center years ago, in pre-pandemic times, as she was hearing more and more news about students’ mental health issues. With the help of a $125,000 grant from then State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, Weisenreder and the teens made the center a reality. Continued on page 2
Oceanside Sanitation District is an open book during audit By KARINA KoVAC kkovac@liherald.com
Nassau County Comptroller Elaine Phillips’ audit of Oceanside Sanitary District No. 7 revealed a lack of policies and procedures for hiring, budgeting, fuel inventory, payroll processing and health benefits, in addition to showing a deficit of $357,932. The audit, which covered records from 2018 through 2021, noted that in 2021, the district took in $9,042,206 in revenue, primarily from property taxes, and had $9,400,138 in expenses, 89 percent of which went to employees’ salaries and benefits.
The audit was called for by district Commissioner Austin Graff after he was elected and before the coronavirus pandemic, to see what positive changes the district could make overall and during day-to-day operating. “I reached out to the comptroller’s office, and I asked them to audit, and I’m glad that they did,” Graff said. “Now we will have, or already put in place, policies that strengthen our financial protections for taxpayer money.” Throughout the auditing process, the comptroller’s office and the district have been in continuous communication to troubleshoot the systems in place and
develop newer ways to keep track of operating costs. “Audits have the power to help local municipalities, agencies, and departments manage government resources efficiently and effectively,” a press release from Phillips’ office stated. “By auditing these agencies, the Comptroller’s Office provides accountability for the use of tax dollars.” In the formal response to the audit reports, district board Chairman John Mannone said, “For far too long the district was run by a group of people who ran the district without regard for the taxpayers’ concerns and the concerns of the employees of
the district, as was found in prior audits.” Mannone continued, “This board believes the comptroller’s recommendations are appropriate, important to implement, and in some cases have already been implemented. If the recommendation has not already been implemented, it will be done so shortly by the district.”
The audit discovered that expenditures had been kept in four different places — and when all those were recovered, statements differed. Auditors noticed specifically that the fund balance information in the district’s QuickBooks file did not agree with the fund balance information in the district’s audited Continued on page 5