Voting on the Hicksville School District's proposed 2003-2004 spending plan will take place on Tuesday, June 3. At this time, residents will have the opportunity to vote for or against the district's proposed spending plan of $78,340,644. The 2003-2004 budget is a 5.5 percent or $4,067,108 increase over the current year's budget of $74,273,536.

There will be two propositions on the ballot in this year's budget/trustee vote. Proposition #1 relates to the district's proposed 2003-2004 spending plan and is broken down into three components - Administrative, Program and Capital. The proposed 2003-2004 costs are $10,120,288, $58,488,034 and $9,732,322, respectively.

Of the budget's total, only $7,642,658 or 9.76 percent is expected to be offset by state aid. As a result, the district's tax rate is expected to increase by $57.41 per $100 of assessed valuation for an average tax bill of approximately $3,031 for a Class I homeowner. Last year, the estimated tax rate was $51.01 per $100 of assessed valuation, resulting in an average tax bill of $2,723.

According to district officials, $53.37 of the $57.41 increase is due to reassessment, which shifted a larger share of the tax burden on Class I homeowners. Hicksville, however, continues to rank in the lowest quartile in Nassau County and in many cases, the assessments for Hicksville homeowners have decreased. Individual assessments can be checked at www.mynassauproperty.com.

Also included in the budget is a second proposition relating to the appropriation of $50,000 to the Hicksville Gregory Museum, as in previous years, for educational services associated with its programs. Proposition #2 is contingent upon the approval of Proposition #1. (See story below.)

The budget is broken down into the following six categories:

This category contains monies for the overall administration of the district, which includes appropriations for the school board, central administration and the operation and general maintenance of the district buildings.

The General Support category accounts for $10,990,465, an increase of $209,553 over the current year's spending of $10,780,912.

This section addresses what the district calls its "major function," instructional programs. The salaries of principals, supervisors, teachers, guidance counselors, psychologists, librarians, health service personnel, teaching assistants, and clerical workers and aides are encompassed in this area of the budget. Also included in this section are the costs for instructional supplies, textbooks, district handicapped programs and tuition for BOCES and private schools, guidance, libraries, and occupational education.

The Instruction category accounts for $47,215,388, an increase of $3,515,449 over this year's total of $43,699,939.

The Hicksville School District provides transportation for approximately 4,100 students to public and non-public schools in and out of the district. Also included in this portion of the budget is the transportation provided for handicapped students and vocational students to special schools outside the district, as well as interscholastic sports trips and academic field trips.

The Transportation category accounts for $4,525,431, a decrease of $389,922 from the current year's spending of $4,915,353.

This category encompasses all the recreational services funded by the school district. Included in this are the summer and after-school recreation and youth programs.

For 2003-2004, the Recreational category of the budget has increased by $4,720 from $178,980 to $183,700. For 2002-2003, this area of the budget decreased by nearly $30,000.

This money accounts for the census the district distributes and tabulates for the residents of the district.

The Community Service section of the budget accounts for $72,074, an increase of $1,643 over the current year's spending of $70,431.

The Undistributed section includes payment of employee benefits such as retirement, Social Security, health insurance and unemployment insurance, along with interest on borrowing. The Other Debt category covers the cost of the district's Cogeneration Energy plan.

For the 2003-2004 school year, this Undistributed area of the budget accounts for $15,341,032, a $787,531 increase, over the current year's total of $14,553,501. In the Other Debt category, the budget has decreased by $11,866 from $24,420 to $12,554.

Voting on the proposed 2003-2004 budget will take place on Tuesday, June 3 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Burns Avenue, East Street, Woodland, Lee Avenue, Fork Lane, Dutch Lane and Old Country Road Schools. Election of school board trustees will also take place at this time.

Two board seats are up this year and both incumbents, Pat Love and Peggy Theis, are being challenged. Dolores Garger is running against Love and Gus Costa is seeking election to Theis' seat.

What is the Gregory Museum's Contract for Educational Services to Hicksville included on Proposition 2 of the Hicksville School District's proposed budget? It provides that if the budget and the proposition both pass, the museum will receive $50,000 during the next school year from the residents of Hicksville. This represents two dollars and change from each family per year, well under the $5 admission fee charged to non-Hicksville residents for just one adult visit to the museum.

In return, the Gregory Museum offers free general admission to all Hicksville residents as often as they choose. All students who are Hicksville residents may also attend free educational class tours conducted by trained professionals. There are about 25 different programs from which their teachers can select. Hicksville Scout groups are guided in work towards their badges. Outreach programs such as Dick Evers' famous tour of Hicksville are provided to both student groups and senior citizens. Community service events, including last September's very successful Senior Citizen Awards Day are made available. The museum's trustees and staff make every effort to accommodate the residents of Hicksville in return for their support of the proposition.

The service contract represents only a portion of the funds that must be generated each year in order to sustain and display a first class collection, provide utilities, security, insurance and maintain the historic building. The museum also pays modest salaries to a full-time curator, part-time director and hourly employees as needed. The contract with the school district is a vital component of the museum's budget. Museum trustees comply with all the State Education Department requirements for an independent audit and submission of proper financial reports.

The Gregory Museum has been serving the community for 40 years. Its present home, the century old Hicksville Courthouse on Heitz Place, has never looked better. The exterior was recently restored to maintain its authentic appearance as Hicksville's only officially designated National Historical Place. The deteriorated cupola was replicated thanks to the efforts of BOCES carpentry classes. There are new doors and windows, shutters and a new driveway. The foundations have been reinforced, an in ground sprinkler installed and the lawn and butterfly garden are neatly maintained with comfortable benches near the new flagpole.

What the community may not realize is that all these accomplishments represent the continuing efforts of volunteers, whether it be their physical labor, fundraising efforts or the many hours spent writing proposals to solicit aid from corporations, charitable foundations or government agencies that help to finance historic preservation.

In contrast with other museums that are either commercial or government sponsored, the Hicksville Gregory Museum is an independent, non-profit educational entity with a prestigious permanent charter from the New York State Education Department. Its board of trustees and board of advisors donate their time and service as well as their personal financial support because they feel the museum is one of Long Island's treasurers.

Primarily dedicated to earth science, the main room of the museum is filled with incredibly beautiful minerals in brilliant colors and extraordinary shapes. One display features fluorescent minerals that glow in the dark in vivid colors. Latest additions to the collection are some world-class fossil specimens, including a pair of 14" dinosaur eggs with complete embryonic skeletons, one partially visible, making the museum the envy of much more renowned institutions. There is a rare fossilized dinosaur bird, 140 million years old, and a fierce looking prehistoric Mosausaurus. Plans for September 2003 include addition to the permanent collection of an almost complete small dinosaur, a Psittacosaurus, the 100 million year old forerunner of the better known Triceratops. The Gregory Museum is not just a depository for these treasures, but rather they are teaching tools, offering insight into the history and development of the earth.

For those with other interests, the museum's extensive moth and butterfly collection is still on exhibit, currently being updated by a volunteer lepidopterist. There is a beautiful presentation of seashells from all over the world, identified and classified for education purposes by a volunteer from the Long Island Shell Club. And, of course, back in the jail area are local Hicksville and Long Island photographs and artifacts All of the wonderful items on view represent donations from collectors, scientists, historians or interested residents who feel that we must preserve and learn from the past.