At its most recent meeting, the Roslyn Board of Education formally adopted a budget of $85,400,446 at its budget hearing on June 8 for submission to the district's voters on June 20.

According to school district officials, this revised budget was reduced by $1,409,100 from the budget defeated on May 16.

As noted in last week's issue of The Roslyn News, the budget-to-budget increase will be 6.12 percent, compared to a proposed 7.87 percent increase in the budget that was defeated on May 16. In addition, the proposed tax levy will increase 7.22 percent, compared to 9.14 percent in the original proposed budget. The average estimated tax increase will be 7.85 percent down from 9.79 percent in the original proposed budget.

As part of the budget resolution adopted on June 8, the BOE also established 5.3 percent as the maximum expenditure level under a contingent budget.

If the budget is defeated a second time on June 20, the BOE, district officials note, is required by law to adopt a contingent budget in which spending is capped according to a formula established by New York State.

District officials said that some expenditures cannot be included in a contingent budget even if they fall within the budget cap; for example, non-emergency repairs; equipment, unless needed for health and safety; student supplies; and use of facilities by outside groups that incurs a cost.

June 20 is the state-mandated date for second budget votes. Voting will take place at Roslyn High School from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. A budget notice will be sent to all residents prior to the vote.

Call 625-6307 for additional budget information, or visit the district's website at www.roslynschools.org. Call Anne Keller, the district clerk at 625-6599 for voter information. Applications for Absentee Ballots must be returned in person by June 19 to the district clerk.

The vote on approving the budget for a vote was 6-1, with only BOE member, Jeff Borowick casting a "nay" vote.

"The budget still has a lot of excesses," said Borowick, who since he was defeated for re-election in the May 16 election, was making one of his last major votes. "The board didn't deliberate for the interests of the entire community," he said, adding that the BOE did not make a compromise that would combine quality education with the concerns of residents facing perilous economic conditions.

Borowick also said that "several" BOE members "insisted on keeping certain programs" only to fulfill political promises.

"This school district has continued on a pattern of spending for the sake of spending," he concluded. "[It] doesn't have the intestinal fortitude to make the tough decisions to have this school district to continue to offer quality education on a financially affordable platform."

BOE President Stanley Stern, meanwhile, defended the budget as a "sound" document, one that has made several cutbacks, all in the acknowledgement of initial budget's earlier defeat.

"My hope is that we will continue with educational excellence," he said.

In addition to the upcoming budget vote, rumors have spread throughout the school district community that the BOE has settled on a Plainview educator as the choice for the district's next superintendent. In addition, there has been talk of the superintendent's salary reaching as high as $400,000 per annum.

Stern said that the new budget allocates $100,000 in "extra expenses' for the new superintendent. "Anything else is just a rumor," he said.

Stern also said that the BOE is currently in contract negotiations with a superintendent candidate, who, according to Stern, has an "outstanding reputation for excellence in education."

Stern added that the BOE hopes to have an announcement on the entire matter, "very shortly."

As far as the extra $100,000 is concerned, Stern said that the school district currently has an interim superintendent who works without benefits. State law, he added, mandates that school boards write in certain benefits to a superintendent's contract.

Finally, in response to queries from local residents, Stern reiterated the BOE's guiding criteria in the superintendent search. Such a criteria, he added, was established by an educational consulting firm, which met with a "wide segment" of the school district population, including parents, teachers, students, and employees. The firm presented their recommendations to the BOE, which in turn, made their own additions.

The criteria, in short, called for an honest, experienced, "humanistic" candidate, plus one who will work well with parents, teachers, and the BOE itself. The BOE, Stern concluded, wanted some with both "educational expertise" and experience as a superintendent.