At the March 27 meeting of the North Shore Board of Education, trustees officially adopted the proposed budget for 2008-09.

In a conscientious effort to remain sensitive to the current economic climate, trustees worked diligently to provide relief in school property taxes by cutting $2,892,636 from the initial 2008-2009 proposed school budget while still maintaining the quality of North Shore's current academic programs. Trustees eliminated any expenses that did not cover growth in enrollment; help to more effectively meet the needs of students; protect the health and safety of students and staff; or maintain the condition of buildings and grounds. The fiscally conservative 2008-09 budget proposal results in a 4.9 percent increase over the 2007-08 budget - one of the lowest budget-to-budget percentage changes in many years.

At the March 27 meeting, the board adopted a final budget proposal of $80,933,385, which is $743,000 more than the contingency budget, representing a difference of less than 1 percent. This small difference will allow North Shore to maintain class sizes at the Nassau County average and provide students and faculty with access to up-to-date instructional technology and software.

If the proposed budget does not pass, the New York State contingency budget cap would limit the budget to $80,189,539, a 4.0 percent increase over last year's budget. This would result in the elimination of up to 25 percent of all interscholastic athletics, arts and extracurricular clubs and activities; all new instructional technology and equipment; up to four teaching positions; and a reduction of funds for school security. Additionally, the loss of technology equipment would put North Shore students at an academic disadvantage compared with other school districts.

In addition to the 2008-09 budget (Proposition 1), there will be one other proposition on the ballot. In their continued effort to proactively plan ahead to control long-term costs, trustees are asking district residents to allow them to establish a Capital Reserve Fund (Proposition 2), to be funded up to a maximum of $8 million for capital projects to be completed during the next 10 years. The Capital Reserve Fund would be funded by an initial transfer of $2.6 million from the district's Repair Reserve Fund (which currently contains $5 million resulting from a PILOT agreement between LIPA and Nassau County for the Glenwood Landing generators) and in subsequent years, a portion of unspent monies that the district is able to save from the previous year's budget (otherwise known as the Fund Balance).

If approved, the establishment of a Capital Reserve Fund will be used for the following costly maintenance projects to be completed during the next 5-10 years: replacement of the internal ceilings in the older portions of the high school, middle school, Glen Head and Glenwood Landing; replacement of the original boilers in Sea Cliff and the middle school; replacement of the middle school library and cafeteria roof; upgrading, repair and replacement of heating and ventilation systems in the older portions of Glen Head, the middle school and high school.

Instead of incorporating these costs into future budgets which will likely raise property taxes, a Capital Reserve Fund will result in long-term budget savings for district residents. On May 20, residents will vote on each of these two propositions separately.

The North Shore Board of Education believes that this work is yet another example of how the board has conscientiously planned ahead for long-range savings to benefit community residents, similar to the development of the new transportation facility (resulting in savings of approximately $30 million in taxes during the next 25 years) and the Energy Management Contract (representing savings of $5-$10 million in taxes over the next 18 years while making our buildings more energy efficient).

North Shore School District residents will have an opportunity to vote on Tuesday, May 20 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the high school gymnasium. Voter registration will take place in the high school lobby on Saturday, May 3 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Monday, May 5 from 3 to 8 p.m. If you have any questions, call Superintendent Dr. Edward Melnick at 277-7801 or email him at melnicke@northshoreschools.org. For the latest budget news, visit www.northshoreschools.org