The Mineola School District Board of Education will hold a hearing on the proposed 2005-2006 budget this Thursday, May 5 at 7 p.m. in the Willis Avenue School cafeteria.

On May 17, the district will be asking voters to approve a $68,855,901 budget for the 2005-2006 school year, which represents a 5.98 percent increase over the 2004-2005 budget.

The plan calls for a 4.93 percent tax levy increase, which is the amount of revenue in the budget that will come from tax dollars. The proposed 2005-2006 budget has $62,507,175 coming from taxes while the 2004-2005 budget had $59,570,941 coming from tax dollars.

Out of 54 school districts in Nassau County, 12 districts - Roslyn (3.0), Manhasset (4.41), Levittown (4.48), Lawrence (4.54), East Williston (4.79), East Meadow (5.0), Malverne (5.10), Lynbrook (5.54), Elmont (5.54), Island Trees (5.59), Floral Park-Bellerose (5.64) and Plainview-Old Bethpage (5.97) are reporting lower budget-to-budget percentage increases than Mineola's 5.98 percent. (Note: Franklin Square and Roosevelt did not report.)

Out of 54 school districts in Nassau County, only five reported to have lower tax levy increases than Mineola's 4.93 percent. Those districts are Levittown (2.60), Floral Park-Bellerose (2.97), North Bellmore (3.40), East Williston (3.49) and Roslyn (4.27).

In addition to voting on the budget on May 17 residents will also be asked to vote on a $10,687,373 bond referendum. However, the referendum will have no impact to taxpayers since the revenue the district will be receiving from its communication lines lease to Nextel will be earmarked for the bond payments. The referendum is to make repairs at the schools.

In addition, taxpayers will also be asked to elect two members to the five-member board of education. The terms belonging to current board members RoseAnn Buglione and Mary Ellen Williams are due to expire. Williams is running for re-election. However, Buglione is opting to retire. Both seats are three-year terms.

Here are the candidates for Buglione's seat:

Mr. Bradley is currently a database consultant for several Long Island-based companies. In the past, he has served as an adjunct instructor in computer science at the Katherine Gibbs School in Melville. A graduate of Kansas State University, he is presently completing a master's thesis in computer science at Hofstra University. In early 2003, Mr. Bradley moved to Mineola with his wife Maria and their two children. The Bradley's oldest child is a kindergarten student at the Willis Avenue School and will attend the Jackson Avenue School in the fall. Mr. Carroll was born and raised in Mineola and is a graduate of the Mineola School District. He has served as a middle school history teacher in the Glen Cove School District for the past 10 years as a team leader in that district for the past five years. Mr. Carroll holds a master's degree in science and computer education and recently earned state certification in school administration and supervision. A resident of Williston Park, Mr. Carroll has three children. His oldest attends the Meadow Drive School while his middle child attends the Willis Avenue School. Ms. Dave is a graduate of the Mineola School District and currently serves as an attorney within the community. During the course of her law practice, Ms. Dave's pro bono work has merited Congressional honor. She is active within the diverse communities the district serves and is devoted to protecting residents' civil and human rights. A Mineola resident for the past 24 years, Ms. Dave currently has a 10-year-old daughter attending the Mineola schools. Here are the candidates for seat currently held by Mary Ellen Williams: Ms. Sandler has been a Mineola resident for the past 16 years. She is an active participant is the school district, currently serving as a member of the Mineola High School Site-Based Team as well as an MAA soccer coach for both the peewee and boys travel teams. Ms. Sandler is a certified court reporter with a bachelor's degree in accounting, a master's in elementary education and an MBA in international finance. She also has state certification in both elementary and secondary education. She lives with her husband John and their three children Alexis, Justin and Jordan.

Ms. Williams has been a member of the Mineola School Board of Education since 2002 and a district resident for the past 18 years. She has served on the District Health and Safety Committee, the Board Policy Committee and the Strategic Objectives Assessment Team. She also completed a series of classes on school governance with the NYS School Boards Association. Prior to her election to the board of education, Ms. Williams served as District Council PTA President. She and her husband have two sons in attendance at the middle school and high school.

There is expected to be a Meet the Candidates night on Wednesday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Mineola Middle School.