Smithtown, Hauppauge and Kings Park
May 19th weighed heavy on the minds of many administrators and Board of Education members around the Hamblet of Smithtown. Education has been a contentious issue the last two years as the state rolled new curriculum called Common Core. Many critics and there are many say it was a financial carrot dangled by the federal government and N.Y.S. should have never instituted it. Several states did not adopt Common Core. People in the inner sanctum of education were afraid Common Core could take some budgets down. However every Smithtown School district passed their budgets.
The Core played a critical role this year with many parents who chose to Opt Out of the testing for their students for a number of reasons took their hand at running for some seats for their school boards. The Opt Out Movement is huge and getting bigger with dozens of Facebooks pages that began to emerge back in 2013. The Opt Out contingent is well-informed and well connected. And they are being heard by the media and their Administrators and Board of Education as well.
With new methods for evaluating teachers, education has been the most contentious issue on Long Island in recent history. Everyone who does a job needs to be evaluated to see if they are effective right? Well teachers are not in agreement of the methodology. However, critics of tenure say educators can’t have everything, if teachers want tenure, they must be evaluated in a very systematic and thorough way. It’s a complex and messy issue when it comes to education in New York State at present.
Smithtown’s State Senator John Flanagan was heading up the Education Committee for the last few years and spent countless hours hearing from the teachers and parents around the state. However, he will now be heading up the Republican Party taking over Skelos seat. Perhaps his education woes may subside to some degree but those woes didn’t seem to show up at this year’s polls in Smithtown despite some signs around the township suggesting voters vote down their school budgets. All four Smithtown school districts passed their budgets and many propositions asking for even more money for capital projects.
Audit Committees
Every school district in the state is required by law to create and have an Audit Committee. For example the Hauppauge Audit Committee was first created by the Hauppauge Board of Education in 2006 with the role of providing focused oversight of the audit functions of our district. The committee serves in an advisory capacity; the Board of Education still retains responsibility and accountability for overseeing district finances.
Hauppauge’s audit committee is comprised of 6 members: three who are current Board of Education Members and two appointed by the board from the Hauppauge community. The committee members serve for three-year terms.
This has been one of the most critical moves the NYS Department of Education has made because not all members elected to the Board of Education have financial knowledge or come from the financial sector, actually most don’t. Essentially B.O.E. members are running 80K 100K 200K dollar businesses. Many members of audit committees are C.P.A.’s or those with extensive financial backgrounds. Creating and instating budgets is a very complex process and it’s both ongoing and ever changing. With constant fluxes in education funding, costs of fuel and other costs not set in stone make the job of setting up one number for a vote even more complex. Audit Committees work hand in hand with the Administration and B.O.E. and ultimately the B.O.E. holds the power but Audit Committees are an enormous asset to all school districts.
SMITHTOWN
BUDGET PASSED
2 Seats were open. Christopher Alcure ran unopposed and took in 2,395 votes
MaryRose Rafferty, a newcomer took 862 votes and Jeremy Thode 2,144. The two latter were running for the seat of Matthew Morton who did not seek re-elections.
Prop. #2 Passed to establish a capital reserve fund 2,507 to 715.
The Budget was $229,498,602 and passed by a 91% margin
HAUPPAUGE
BUDGET PASSED
PROPOSITION 1: 2015/2016 Budget: YES: 1458 NO: 442 PASS
PROPOSITION 2: Capital Project: YES: 1150 NO: 710 PASS
Susan Hodosky: 984
Michael Buscarino: 1098
Stacey Weisberg: 1122
KINGS PARK
BUDGET PASSED
Prop. #1 Passed Authorized to expend the sum of $84,729,293 in accordance with the budget submitted for the School Year 2015-2016 and levy the necessary taxes therefor.
Prop. #2 Passed
The Board of Education of the Kings park Central School District, Town of Smithtown be authorized to enter into installment purchase agreement for the purchase of four school buses, the principal cost of which shall not exceed $460,000 and will be financed over five years. (The funds for the first year of the financed purchase would be available in that budget and, therefore, no additional increase in the tax levy would occur with the passage of this proposition).
Prop. #3 Passed Shall the Board of Education be authorized to expend the sum of $875,000 for the purpose of replacing a section of the
roof at Kings park High School, including all labor, materials and auxiliary costs associated therewith to be funded as follows (a) $275,000 to be expended from the capital reserve fund established on February 7, 2008 and (b) $600,000 to be expended from unreserved, undesignated fund balance for the 2014-15 general fun.
Authorization of this capital work expenditure has no impact on the 2015-2016 budget amount and therefore no additional increase in the tax levy will occur with the passage of this proposition.
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Two 3-Year Terms Expiring June 30, 2018
Charles Leo – 1108 Votes
Diane Nally – 1821 Votes
Kevin D. Johnston – 1886 Votes
Nally in an incumbent, Johnson is a soon to be retired teacher and new member of the B.O.E. who ousted incumbent Charlie Leo