School Board, Budget Votes Yield Few Surprises

By Long Islander News staff

info@longislandergroup.com

With several uncontested incumbents and not a single budget that piercing a district tax cap, there were few surprises once the results rolled in Tuesday night. Here are the results for each of the eight public school districts across the Town of Huntington:

Cold Spring Harbor voters OK $66.62M budget, re-elect trio of incumbents

Cold Spring Harbor voters passed a $66.62 million budget for the 2017-2018 school year and re-elected incumbents Mark Freidberg, Mark McAteer and Janice Elkin to the school board.

Freidberg was the top vote-getter with 420 votes. McAteer, current school board vice president, followed closely with 417 votes.

Meanwhile, Elkin, who did not file a petition to run for the board, earned 78 votes as a write-in candidate. Following the results, Elkin reversed her decision and will accept the position on the board, according to William Bernhard, interim assistant superintendent for business.

They are elected to three-year terms on the board.

Other write-in candidates included Tami Stark with 76 votes; Todd Bertsch with 75 votes; and Mark Attalienti with 40 votes.

As for the budget, it was approved, 586-420. The budget stays within the tax levy limit with a tax levy increase of 2.42 percent. It marks a 2.52-percent increase from the district’s current budget.

The current school board’s next regular meeting is set for June 13, 8 p.m. at the Francis Roberts Community Center (75 Goose Hill Road, Cold Spring Harbor).

Incumbent defeated, two newcomers elected; $190.16M budget OKd in Commack

Two seats up for grabs on the Commack school board will be filled by two new faces.

Jen Carpenter, who challenged incumbent Janine DiGirolamo, was elected with 1363 votes. DiGirolamo was defeated with 1,059 votes.

Meanwhile, the seat of incumbent Mary Jo Masciello, who did not seek re-election, was secured by William Hender with 1,240 votes. He defeated April Haupt, who earned 1,148 votes.

Both Carpenter and Hender were elected to three-year seats on the board.

Meanwhile, voters also approved, 2,019-555, the district’s nearly $190.16 million spending plan for the 2017-2018 school year. The budget marks a 1.4-percent, or $2.6 million, increase from the district’s current budget. It also sports a 1.99-percent tax levy increase.

The current school board’s final regular meeting of the school year is set for June 8, 7:30 p.m. at Commack High School (1 Scholar Lane).

Incumbent re-elected, open seat decided by two votes in Elwood; $60.33M budget OKd

While an unopposed incumbent was re-elected in Elwood, a second seat vied for by two newcomers was decided by two votes.

Becky Marcus emerged as the winner with 686 votes to opponent Matthew Curiale’s 684 votes. Marcus will take over the seat of incumbent Michael LaMena, who did not seek reelection.

Incumbent Julia Fried, who ran unopposed, re-elected with 962 votes. Fried was first elected to the board in 2014.

Both Fried and Marcus will begin their three-year terms with the start of the 2017-2018 school year.

Meanwhile, voters also approved, 1,158-261, the district’s $60.33 million spending plan for 2017-2018. The budget marks a 1.46-percent increase from the current year’s budget, and sports a 1.99-percent tax levy increase.

Residents also approved a new measure that will change the district’s election system to an at-large process starting in 2018. Moving forward, candidates with the highest vote totals, regardless of which seat they run for, will be elected to the board.

The current school board’s final regular meeting of the school year is set for June 15, 7:30 p.m. at Elwood Middle School (478 Elwood Road, East Northport).

Incumbents, newcomer elected; $248.04M budget OKd in Hills

Voters within the Half Hollow Hills School District have re-elected two incumbents, and elected one newcomer — each of whom were unopposed — and approved a $248.04 million budget for the 2017-2018 school year.

Elected to her third three-year term on the school board was Diana Acampora, who earned 1,038 votes. She’s previously said she wants to continue to support the district’s “first-class” education initiatives while keeping costs down.

Also re-elected to her third-three year term was Betty DeSabato, the board’s current vice president, who earned 1,032 votes. Her focuses for include pushing budgets that stay within the tax cap, improving the district’s aging infrastructure and working new technology into classrooms, she said previously.

The newcomer to the school board is attorney Michael Prywes, who earned 913 votes. Prywes has worked for the past two years as managing attorney of Manhattan-based startup law firm Prywes, PC. He has previously said he wants the district to adapt to students’ changing educational needs, continue to be fiscally-responsible and get creative with its problem solving.

Voters also approved, 991-315, the district’s $248.04 million spending plan for the 2017-2018 school year. The budget calls for a $6.75 million, or 2.8-percent, increase from the 2016-2017 budget, and sports a tax levy increase of 1.93 percent in line with the district’s state-mandated tax cap of 1.89 percent.

The current school board’s final regular meet of the school year is set for June 5, 7 p.m. at Candlewood Middle School (1200 Carlls Straight Path, Dix Hills).

Harborfields’ $84.17M budget approved; incumbent keeps seat, newcomer elected

An incumbent was reelected alongside a newcomer to the school board, and Harborfields voters also approved an $84.17 million spending plan for the 2017-2018 school year once polls closed Tuesday night.

Incumbent school board Vice President David Steinberg was the top vote-getter with 800. He was followed by newcomer Christopher Kelly, who earned 741 votes.

Challengers Lauri Levenberg and Anila Nitekman were defeated with 623 and 467 votes respectively.

Both Steinberg, who has served on the board since 2014, and Kelly were elected to three-year seats on the school board.

Meanwhile, voters also approved, 1,224-249, the district’s $84.17 million proposed spending plan for 2017-2018. The budget marks a $1.31-million increase from the previous year’s, and stays within the state-assigned tax cap of 1.68 percent.

The current school board’s final regular meeting of the school year is set for June 14, 7:45 p.m. at Oldfield Middle School (2 Oldfield Road, Greenlawn).

Huntington OKs $126.21M budget, capital projects; re-elects incumbents

Huntington School District voters approving a $126.21 million spending plan and two capital reserve fund propositions for the 2017-2018 school year, and also re-elected incumbent trustees Jennifer Hebert and Xavier Palacios to three-year terms on the school board.

The roughly $126.21 million spending plan for 2017-2018 was approved, 962-219.

A proposition seeking release of around $2.5 million from the district’s Building Improvement Fund for renovation and repair projects also got the thumbs up with a vote of 1,022-148. A second capital reserve proposition to authorize the creation of a new Building Improvement Fund passed, 998-176.

Hebert, a board trustee since 2011, earned 1,037 votes.

Palacios, a trustee since 2012, was re-elected by 978 votes.

The current school board’ final regular meeting of the school year is set for June 5, 7:30 p.m. at Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School (155 Lowndes Ave., Huntington Station).

Incumbent re-elected as Northport school board shrinks; $163.47M budget OKd

With the Northport-East Northport school board shrinking from nine members to seven, incumbent Donna McNaughton defeated challenger Thomas Loughran to keep her seat.

McNaughton earned 1,750 votes to Loughran’s 769. Her third total three-year term on the board will begin with the 2017-2018 school year.

District residents also approved a $163.47 million spending plan for the 2017-2018 school year.

The budget marks a 1.29 percent increase from the previous years. It also sports a 1.57-percent tax levy increase, which is within the district’s state assigned tax cap of 1.67 percent.

The current school board’s next regular meeting is slated for June 1, 7 p.m. at the William J. Brosnan administrative building (158 Laurel Ave., Northport).

South Huntington voters elect two new faces, approve $162.79M spending plan

Two newcomers defeated a former board member in the race for two open seats on the South Huntington school board, and voters also approved a $162.79 million budget for the 2017-2018 school year.

Andrew Bronson led the tally with 1,238 votes, and Sidney Joyner followed with 807 votes. Thomas Teresky, a former member of the board, was defeated with 753 votes.

Their three-year terms are set to begin with the 2017-2018 school year.

The district’s roughly $162.79 million spending plan for 2017-2018 marks a 2.38 percent, or around $3.79 million, increase from the current school year’s budget. It comes with a 1.41-percent, or around $1.56 million, tax levy increase, in line with the district’s state-assigned tax cap.

This year’s final board meeting is June 14, 7:30 p.m. at Walt Whitman High School.