On Jan. 27, the Jericho Board of Education approved a resolution for a proposition on transportation. The proposition, which has been placed on the ballot for the May 16 budget vote and school board election, is written as follows:

"Be it resolved, that the Board of Education be authorized and directed to provide transportation to kindergarten through fifth grade students who reside less than three-quarters of a mile but more than 2,200 feet from their residences to the school which they legally attend at a cost not to exceed $183,900; and that the tax be levied therefor; and further, that the Board of Education be authorized and directed to provide transportation to all pupils in grades six - 12 who live less than three-quarters of a mile from their residences to school, which change in qualifying distance for transportation services will not result in any additional cost to the district."

After residents questioned property measurements in the fall of 1999, the school board hired a traffic engineer to do an accurate measurement of all the school districts as information was outdated. After the measurement, it was found that 100 students inside the 3/4 mile limit, around the district, were receiving transportation that should not have been. Those students were able to keep their transportation until the end of this school year. "This proposition will guarantee that no youngster will have to cross Jericho Turnpike, Brush Hollow Road or Route 106/107," said Board Vice President Robert Goldsmith. "In addition, those children, currently receiving bus service within the three-quarter mile limit, will not lose the transportation their families have come to depend on."

The transportation proposition is not included in the proposed budget - it will appear as a separate line on the ballot. The additional cost for this proposition, if accepted, would be 17.7 cents for $100 of assessed value, which translates to approximately $17.70 per year for an average household assessed at $10,000. Maps with current proposed boundary lines are available in the principal's office at each elementary school in Jericho.

The Hamlet East will be affected the most by the failure of this proposition as all children in the Hamlet East Condominium stand to lose bus service if this proposition is not accepted. Hank Grishman, superintendent of the Jericho Free School District, will address the community regarding this issue at the Hamlet East Clubhouse on May 9.

People must be 18 years or older and registered voters to participate in the upcoming budget vote and election. The ballots will be tallied by the number of people voting, not the number of families. Absentee ballots will be honored only if you will be out of town, hospitalized or homebound due to an illness. For further information on absentee ballots, please call (516) 681-4100 ext. 214. Public approval of the transportation proposition is required to institute the proposed amendments. Voting will take place on May 16, from noon until 10 p.m. in the high school gym.