On May 15 the residents of New Hyde Park will go to the polls to vote on their individual school budgets and to vote for new trustees. The following is some information we hope will be helpful:

Herricks School District

2007/08 Budget: $87, 308, 568 with a budget-to-budget increase of 5.77 percent and a tax levy of 4.95 percent.

David Goodsell is running, unopposed, for re-election as a Herricks School Board Trustee

Voting for the Herricks Budget will be from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Herricks Community Center Gym, 999 Herricks Road, New Hyde Park.

New Hyde Park/Garden City Park District

The residents of the New Hyde Park/Garden City Park District will vote on three budgets:

New Hyde Park/Garden City Park School

2007/08 Budget: $29, 572, 435, a 4.34 percent increase with an estimated tax levy of 3.98 percent.

Hillside Library Budget

The Hillside Library 2007/08 Budget: $2, 553, 875, an 8.12 percent increase with an estimated tax levy of 10.6 percent.

Sewanhaka Central High School

2007/08 Budget: $141, 111, 739, a 5.3 percent increase with an estimated tax levy of 1.2 percent.

New Hyde Park Garden City Park voters will also vote for the acceptance and facilitation of the EXCEL Aid, New York State Building Aid in the amount of $943, 237.

Further, approval of Proposition No. 5 will authorize the school district to establish a Capital Reserve that will allow the district to form a long-range consistent capital plan.

School Board Trustees

There are three school board trustee seats to be filled, only one is contested:

Annette Giarratani vs. Anthony Perrone

Joseph Bongiorno

Ernest Gentile

Voting will be held from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Manor Oaks School, 1950 Hillside Avenue, New Hyde Park.

The bottom line, be sure to get out and vote. Your vote counts.

-MDW