N. Shore board of ed adopts $120M budget District faces strains due to inflation, revenue losses

BY CAMERYN OAKES

The North Shore School District voted unanimously to adopt its $120 million budget with a tax levy of $89 million for 2023-24.

The budget is increasing by about 3.78%, compared to the current academic year’s budget of nearly $116 million. Superintendent Christopher Zublionis said this is mostly attributed to increases in health insurance, retirement and debt service costs. The budget also includes an estimated 3.7% tax levy increase.

On top of inflationary costs, the school district presented its budget amid financial challenges of revenue losses from the decommissioned Long Island Power Authority power plant.

In the wake of the decommissioning, Zublionis said LIPA was grieving its taxes, which were finally settled in June.

That means, according to Zublionis, millions of dollars have been slashed from the tax roll and taxes have shifted to the residents.

“For generations, a big portion of the [tax class] was paid by the power plant,” Zublionis said previously.

“That worked as long as it was generating power.”

In Nassau County, the tax base is built around four classes: businesses, utilities, condos and homes. In areas with high business and retail revenue, those businesses pay taxes that reduce the taxes paid by homeowners.

In 2001, homeowners paid about 54.5% of the tax class share. In 2023, they now pay about 83.4%.

In total, the district has lost $2.35 million from LIPA revenue. LIPA is currently paying a direct assessment, which is gradually decreasing by millions of dollars a year. Zublionis said that over the next five years, the district projects it will lose more than $38 million in total revenues from LIPA.

The district received about $2.1 million more in state aid, but Zublionis said it was not enough for their needs.

When the cost increases and revenue losses are added together, Zublionis said it amounts to $10.6 million for the district to make up

While the tax cap is set at 2% and the school adopted a budget with about a 3.7% tax levy increase, Trustee Marianne Russo clarified during the meeting that the tax cap is not flat. She said that the district is operating under the tax cap and difficult Continued on Page 36

During his interview, WissnerGross told Jeopardy host Ken Jennings that he had undergone back surgery a couple of years ago. Before he went under, being very nervous, he told his wife to give him a really hard math question once he awoke. If he could answer it, then she would know he had come out of the anesthesia.

When she asked him, he said he yelled at her “that’s impossible!” and fell right back to sleep. When he awakened an hour later, he still had the question in his head and told her the correct answer.

He competed against reigning two-time winner Melissa Klapper, a professor from Merion Station, Pa., and fellow challenger Karen Morris, a veterinary student from Christiansburg, Va. Jeopardy is divided into three rounds. The first two rounds are Jeopardy! And Double Jeopardy!, which both consist of six categories with five answer clues each. Clues ascend by a dollar amount ranging from $200-$1,000. The first contestant to buzz in gets to answer the clue first.

Final Jeopardy is the final round, which poses a singular question from a category for all contestants to answer.

The Jeopardy! Round featured the categories of “Possessive Lit,” “Long-Lived Critters,” “Around The House,” “4-Letter Sports Terms,” “Apply The Rainbow Color” and “At ‘Last.’”

Wissner-Gross’ first correct answer was in response to the clue “Having a leg up on life, one of these pink birds named Greater got to 83 living at Adelaide Zoo,” the $800 clue from the “Long-lived critters” category. He responded with “What is a flamingo?”

During the round, WissnerGross correctly guessed nine clues, missing answers to just two. Wissner-Gross was trailing behind his fellow contestants after the first round with $2,000. Morris was in the lead with $6,200 and Klapper was behind with $3,500.

The Double Jeopardy Round featured categories of “1963,” “Making Music,” “Move That T From Front To Back,” “Resilience,” “Plateaus” and “Hans, Solo.”

Wissner-Gross answered 15 clues correctly and two incorrectly during this round.

He trailed behind the other Continued on Page 37

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EDITORIAL:

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Manhasset Times: Robert Pelaez 516-307-1045 x203 • rpelaez@theisland360.com

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Port Washington Times: Cameryn Oakes 516-307-1045 x214 • coakes@theisland360.com