BEACON RECORD The Village
Mount Sinai • Miller Place • Sound Beach • rocky Point • ShorehaM • Wading river • leiSure country March 26, 2015
volume 30, no. 35
$1.00
‘By Default’ opens at Gallery North
also: Town of Brookhaven Home and garden Show, easter happenings
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Spring, are we there yet? Photo by erika Karp
Spring may have sprung, despite a snowy first day on March 20 and chilly few days thereafter. above, flowers sprout around melting snow in Miller Place.
Rocky Point BOE puts off bond vote Proposals could be up for a vote later in the year
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Mount Sinai backs parents on full-day K By erika karP
A small contingent of parents erupted into a round of applause at Mount Sinai’s March 18 school board meeting, as Superintendent Gordon Brosdal announced that fullday kindergarten is included in his 2015-16 budget proposal. The meeting marked the first time district administrators committed to making the jump from half-day kindergarten. However, they were quick to remind parents that the move helps more than just the youngest students. “It’s not a full-day K budget,” Brosdal said. “By giving our kids full-day K, you’re ben-
efiting our entire program.” The school board still must vote on whether to adopt the budget next month before it goes to a community vote on May 19. The proposed $56.7 million plan increases spending by a little more than 3 percent over the current year and stays within the school district’s tax levy increase cap of 1.86 percent. Last month, a group of residents spoke in support of full-day kindergarten, saying students need the additional classroom time to meet the new Common Core Learning Standards. Supporters of the plan had previously expressed concerns
Photo by erika Karp
Superintendent gordon Brosdal addresses Mount Sinai residents at a school board meeting on March 18.
that students would fall behind under a half-day program, as there isn’t enough time to cover all the topics required by the Common Core. This was also a worry for Brosdal, who said
under a full-day program students would have extra time to learn and would benefit down the line, as would their teachers, who will no longer have to KINDeRgaRTeN continued on page a12