New Hyde Park-Garden City Park School Budget Vote: What To Know

Daniel Hampton
Updated ·2 min read

NEW HYDE PARK, NY — Residents in the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park School District will vote next month on the proposed 2020-21 budget, as well as for school board trustee. The vote will be mail-in only and absentee ballots will be mailed to all eligible voters in the district by the end of May, the district said. Ballots must be returned by June 9 at 5 p.m. using the postage paid envelope.

The Board of Registration will not meet to register voters due to the coronavirus pandemic. Voters can use the state Department of Motor Vehicles Electronic Voter Registration Application to register to vote or update their personal information they have on file state Board of Elections.

The budget vote follows a livestreamed budget hearing held Wednesday evening and comes as school districts across the state face uncertainty over the amount of state aid they'll receive. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has warned that the economic effect of the coronavirus shutdown could mean much less money available for state education aid. The state will assess and adjust its budget several times in the course of this year. The governor has estimated that state aid would be 20 percent lower than promised.

Proposed 2020-21 School Budget

In a letter to the community, the school board said its focused on maintaining fiscal responsibility to taxpayers amid the pandemic and preparing for students to return.

"As such, we developed this budget with strategy to remain within our tax cap, remain fiscally prudent, and to preserve all programs for our students," the board said.

  • Proposed 2020-21 budget: $41.1 million

  • 2019-20 budget: $40.2 million

  • Budget increase (dollars): + $888,575

  • Budget increase (percent): + 2.21 percent

  • Tax levy 2020-21: $32.6 million

  • Tax levy 2019-20: $31.8 million

  • Tax levy increase (percent): + 2.67 percent

The proposed budget includes money to keep all instructional programs, adding new library furniture, creating new positions, professional development for literacy and technology instruction, and more.

Board of Education Election

Tara Notine, the board's vice president, and trustee James Reddan are both up for re-election.

This article originally appeared on the New Hyde Park Patch