In what was shaping up to be a critical time for school districts, boards of education and administrators can now breathe a sigh of relief. In Elmont, Franklin Square and West Hempstead, proposed operating budgets for the 2002-2003 school year were approved by voters on Tuesday. In addition, in a contested race for a seat on the Elmont Union Free School District Board of Education, board president Deanna Doreson was successful in her re-election bid, defeating challenger Dale Black-Pennington easily by 996 votes. FULL STORY

With school districts recently holding budget hearings as they prepared for the annual budget vote, residents may have heard that a major obstacle facing the district was a state aid freeze. Consider that districts have gotten the same school aid packages for the 2001-2002 school year as they did in 2000-2001 and 1999-2000. However, costs to educate students have gone up during that time. FULL STORY

The Rath Park pool opens for residents of the Franklin Square Park District on Saturday, June 15. Seasonal passes will be available on June 1. FULL STORY