Residents of the Mineola School District will vote on the proposed budget for the 2006-2007 school year on May 16, but before that, the board of education will hold a budget hearing on Thursday, May 4 at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of the Willis Avenue School.

The proposed budget for the 2006-2007 school year calls for $71,748,519 in expenditures, which is $3,503,846 more than the 2005-2006 school year budget, which was a contingency budget. The board of education is proposing a 6.97 percent increase in expenditures over the 2005-2006 budget.

Of the $71,748,519 in expenditures, $65,316,859 is the amount that will be raised by taxes or what is known as the tax levy. Based on current state aid projections, the tax levy increase is 5.67 percent from the 2005-2006 budget.

According to the school district, using the current 2006-2007 tax rate schedule, the proposed tax levy will increase the average homeowner's tax bill by approximately $266 per year if the budget should pass.

The proposed 2006-2007 budget includes funding for programs that were cut as a result of the 2005-2006 budget failing and the board adopting a contingency budget. Some of those programs include the intramurals and 7th grade sports teams as well as 10 additional marching band performances. The proposed budget also calls for the introduction of a new K-8 math program, maintaining $700,000 in reserves targeted for the unappropriated fund balance and the continuation of the district's own transportation program.

If the budget was to fail on May 16, the board of education has the option of putting it out to vote again, adjusting it and then putting out to vote again or adopting a contingency budget. If the board is forced to adopt a contingency budget, $1,090,000 would have to be cut from the proposed budget.

While the Mineola School District has one of the highest spending per pupil ratios in Nassau County, the large commercial tax base in Mineola has helped to alleviate some of the tax impact to residents. According to the average taxes paid per household in 2005-2006, the average homeowner of the Mineola School District paid under $5,000 in school taxes. By comparison, Garden City residents and Herricks residents paid an average of over $7,000 per household; Roslyn School District households paid an average of over $10,000 and East Williston residents hit the $12,000 mark.

Recent Mineola Budgets

2003-2004 $62,301,459 5.28 percent budget increase

2004-2005 $64,970,912 4.28 percent budget increase

2005-2006 $67,076,590 3.24 percent budget increase

2006-2007 $71,748,519 6.97 percent budget increase