Serving Roslyn, Roslyn Heights and Old Westbury
$1
Friday, March 6, 2015
Vol. 3, No. 10
COUNTY ADDS INTERSECTION FIX DOWLING TO HEROIN FIGHT EYED IN FLOWER HILL CHAMPIONS IMMIGRANTS PAGE 8
PAGE 2
School tax levy limit is 1.75 percent
PAGE 6
m u lt i c u lt u r a l c e l e b r at i o n
Athletics, special ed, technology budget figures also introduced BY B I LL SAN ANTONIO Roslyn school administrators are formulating the district’s 201516 budget using a 1.75 percent tax levy limit, officials said. The figure - which represents the maximum percentage that Roslyn may increase taxes in the next year - was announced during a presentation by Joseph Dragone, the district’s assistant superintendent for business, during a Board of Education meeting Thursday. Municipalities throughout the state are prohibited from raising taxes from year-to-year by more than 2 percent, but school districts may not spend more than their calculated allowable levy limit, a figure constructed using a mathematical formula that takes into account the growth of its tax base, payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements and other calculations. As of Feb. 26, Roslyn’s tax levy is $93,238,858.17, Dragone said. Roslyn in early February intro-
duced a $103,072,734 budget for 2015-16 that marked a .33 spending increase from its $102.7 million in expenditures in 2014-15. The district has since held presentations during Board of Education meetings analyzing the different facets of the budget, such as special education, technology and physical education - which were detailed Thursday in addition to the calculation of its tax levy limit. Barbara Schwartz, Roslyn’s director of pupil personnel services, said the district’s special education budget for the next year is projected at $2,437,434, a $125,000 - or 5.13 percent - increase from its 2014-15 total. The increase, she said, accounts for a $40,000 transfer to its line item for legal fees as well as an $85,000 increase in transportation contracts. Roslyn has transportation agreements with the Garden City, East Meadow, East Williston, Jericho, Locust Valley, New Hyde Park, Continued on Page 48
Harbor Hill Elementary School students in early Feburary participated in a multicultural celebration, participating in workshops in which they learned about Brazil, Bolivia, Canada and Thailand as well as dance performances given by fellow students, parents and teachers.
East Hills committee chair seeks larger role in village BY B I LL SAN ANTONIO Since East Hills resident Stacey Siegel formed the village’s Kids in the Park program in 2011, her committee has grown to more than 10 par-
ents, their children and their friends meeting year-round for events at the village’s park. The program introduced her to members of the village board, who began seeking her organization skills in other ways.
More recently, Siegel has begun a neutering program for a feral cat population roaming the Roslyn area. Now, Siegel is running for one of two trustee positions up for election on March 18, Continued on Page 48
For the latest news visit us at www.theislandnow.com D on’t forget to follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow