At the Tuesday, April 29 board of education meeting, board members adopted the proposed 2003-04 school budget, which according to district officials, accommodates growth, supports and extends instructional programs, continues the implementation of capital improvement projects and continues with the implementation of recent curriculum and instructional initiatives.

The program initiatives included in the 2003-04 budget include a district-wide curriculum writing/mapping initiative, the implementation of instructional support teams in all schools, the continuation of the middle school's restructuring process and further recruitment of staff.

Other initiatives entail implementing a guided reading program and learning centers in the primary schools, reviewing the kindergarten program, reviewing and implementing a consistent writing program for K-12, reviewing and exploring the world languages program for the elementary schools and continuing staff development on differentiated instruction.

The Garden City Board of Education will hold a public hearing on Monday, May 12 at 8:15 p.m. in the Administration Building. Voter registration takes place on Tuesday, May 13 from 4-10 p.m. in the high school cafeteria. Residents of the Garden City Union Free School District may vote if they are a United States citizen, 18 years old or over by May 20, 2003, a resident within the school district for a period of 30 days preceding the vote and able to be registered in the district. Those who have not voted in a local, state or national election in the last four years must register. The budget vote is slated for Tuesday, May 20 between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. in the high school gym.

Applications for absentee ballots are available to qualified registered voters from the district clerk, located in Room 1 of the Administration Building, located at 56 Cathedral Avenue, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The ballot must be received no later than 5 p.m. on the date of the election (May 20). The district clerk will send ballots to those residents certified as "permanently disabled" by the board of elections. Call the district clerk at 294-3010 with questions.