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Lou Matarazzo, NYPD union stalwart, dies By DANIEl oFFNER doffner@liherald.com
Courtesy NYPD Ceremonial Unit
MEMBERs oF tHE NYPD carried Lou Matarazzo’s casket out of St. Agnes Cathedral after his funeral Mass last Friday.
Louis Matarazzo, a retired New York City police officer and a longtime police union representative from Rockville Centre, died on Feb. 12, at age 83. Over the past half-century, Matarazzo dedicated his life to law enforcement. He was a lifetime member of the NYPD’s Columbia Association, the fraternal organization of Italian-American police, and a stalwart champion of any cause that suppor ted and endorsed his beloved profession. Matarazzo was the son of an Italian shoemaker, according to a
2006 article in The New York Times, and was fiercely proud of his Italian-American heritage. He grew up in East Harlem, and his family later moved to the South Bronx, where he attended James Monroe High School. He started his career with the NYPD in 1964, as a patrolman assigned to the 108th Precinct in Long Island City. By the mid-1970s, he had settled in Rockville Centre with his wife of more than 60 years, Frances, and their five children. Matarazzo was elected to his first full-time position with the Police Benevolent Association in 1977, and spent the next 23 years Continued on page 9
Middle school upgrades top school budget priority list By DANIEl oFFNER doffner@liherald.com
Roof repairs and a new artificial-turf field at South Side Middle School are top priorities for the Rockville Centre school district in next year’s budget. At a budget workshop on Feb. 15, Robert Bartels, assistant superintendent of business, detailed how the district plans to transfer $4.3 million from its fund balance to cover the cost of the capital projects. “We were given additional funding from the federal government for different Covid e x p e n s e s, a n d i t a c t u a l ly allowed us to increase our fund
balance over the last several years,” Bartels explained. “So we wanted to take part of that fund balance and apply it towards some capital projects.” He said that by using $2.5 million from its existing fund balance, along with $1.8 million set aside from last year, the district will be able to cover the cost of the renovations without impacting taxpayers. The proposed $136.4 million spending plan for 2023-24, which the district presented at the workshop, includes $31.2 million in increases in teacher and employee benefits, $13.2 million in administrative costs, and $7.8 million for capital proj-
ects and debt services. If approved by voters in May, it would increase overall school spending by 5.72 percent — or $7.4 million — next year. The tax levy is projected to increase by 1.99 percent — or $103.8 million. Due to reassessments of residential property in Nassau County, Bartels said, the tax levy could increase up to 2.21 percent without exceeding the state-mandated cap. State and foundation aid, the latter of which is based on a formula designed to help provide more money to schools with high-need students, are expected to increase by 17.8 percent, or $19.3 million. The hike
in state aid comes as part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed executive budget, which would increase funding for public school districts across the state by $3.1 billion in 2023-24. In his presentation, Bartels emphasized that the spending plan would not impact existing pro g rams, would add new cybersecurity protection, and
would fund the district’s plans for an integrated co-teaching model at South Side middle and high schools. It also includes plans for new coding and robotics curriculums throughout the schools, upgrades to the high school basement locker room, new football equipment and six new Continued on page 5