If the Roslyn School District Board of Education wants a new vote on the budget that was defeated last Tuesday, it will have to take place on another Tuesday, this one on June 20.

New York State law has mandated that date as when second votes on defeated school budgets must occur. The BOE is holding a meeting this evening, May 25 at the Administrative Building, in which new budget deliberations will begin.

The BOE now has three options: They can forego a second vote and allow a contingency budget to take effect, they can present the same budget for a second vote, or they can present a revised budget at the June 20 vote.

If the BOE wants a new vote, it must decide by late May. If a budget is defeated on June 20, then the district will operate for the 2006-07 fiscal year under a contingency budget.

On May 16, the $86,809,546 budget was defeated by a vote of 1,928 to 1,764. The budget lost despite support from BOE members, whose approval put it on the ballot. BOE President Stanley Stern, for instance, praised the work of various volunteer committees, calling the budget a true community effort.

Meanwhile, the BOE itself will now have two new members. Running as a team with incumbent Dani Kline, who was the evening's highest vote getter, both Dave Seinfeld and Ronald Smith were elected to the BOE. Seinfeld received 2,225 votes while Smith captured 2,125.

One incumbent, Maryanne Combs, declined to run for re-election. Another, Jeff Borowick, placed fourth in the voting with 1,649 votes.

"I am extremely pleased that this was such an enormous and large vote," said Dani Kline, who received 2,317 votes in a successful re-election campaign. While praising the voter turnout and the community involvement that it represents, Ms. Kline added that she was not discouraged by the defeat of the budget proposal, since she believes that a budget acceptable to both the board and the public can be hammered out without much difficulty. Ms. Kline also looks forward to working with the new BOE, which she claims will be a "better, more respectful board," one where members will advocate for their positions, have a discussion, and reach a consensus that all BOE members will respect.

"I am looking forward to working with the board members," said newly elected BOE member Ronald Smith. "I am interested in long term planning, both educationally and economically." Smith added that he especially hoped to work with local residents, teachers, and parents on those issues. "We have to find a way of being constructive together," he said.

"I feel real good that the community supported my candidacy," said Dave Seinfeld, who is currently a principal at Calhoun High School.

Seinfeld said he hopes to bring some of his knowledge of educational life "from the inside" to the BOE. "I think it is of significant value that I have knowledge from inside a school as a teacher and administrator," he said, adding that he could bring experience on such intricacies as class size, what classes specifically need, what textbooks are needed, and what desks are needed. From his interaction with other school districts on Long Island, Seinfeld said that Roslyn could learn from and even replicate ideas that have worked for other schools.

While the school budget was rejected, the Bryant Library's 2006-07 budget passed by a comfortable 2,121-1,552 margin.

The two propositions on the ballot faced mixed results. Proposition #3, a capital improvements plan, passed by a 2,400-1,228 vote. However, a transportation proposition went down to a 2,320-1,325 defeat.

School officials sold Proposition #3 to the public as a referendum that would not raise property taxes, but, instead, transfer funds recovered from the embezzlement scandal to building and grounds improvements at schools throughout the district.

Proposition #4, the transportation referendum, was initiated by a petition drive by local residents. A 'yes' vote would have returned mileage limits to the levels that were in force in Roslyn during the 1998-99 school year, while saving an estimated $176,533 in the 2006-07 fiscal year. The 'no' vote that prevailed will maintain mileage limits currently in effect.

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