This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Concerns about Lunch Aides at NHP-GCP Board Meeting

This group has already experienced cuts.

Some parents expressed relief at the meeting on Monday night to hear that their children will still receive the same education without cuts that could potentially tamper with their programs and activities. However, Karen Hugli, a resident of New Hyde Park, spoke on behalf of the lunchroom aides and explained that cutting work for 32 aides adds up to nearly 100 hours a year.

Hugli noted that this isn't the first time that the board has cut funding for the lunch aides. A few years ago their holidays were taken out as part of their paid salaries and then they were no longer needed to substitute when the teachers were absent, she added. Hugli expressed that there were other areas besides the lunch aides if the board needed to find areas to cut.

Superintendent of Schools assured parents during the board meeting that the thought placed on the construction of the proposed budget was to "make sure that we streamline every expense possible and still have an effect without having anyone lose their jobs and the students lose their programs."

Find out what's happening in New Hyde Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The 2011-2012 proposed budget is the lowest the New Hyde Park – Garden City Park School has been in seven years with a 2.9 percent increase. New editions to this year’s budget include 32 computer work stations and Intervention Program training for teachers with the new evaluation systems.  

One of the larger cuts to the proposed budget is the Contingency Position that was kept in the budget prior to this year’s revisions. Another cut will affect the fifth and sixth grade students by removing the outdoor education program. Katulak says this will be offset by the new training the physical education teachers received in order to incorporate the activities into the classroom setting during the year. Employer cuts include reducing one position but a person will not lose their job, reducing the number of summer workers and deducting one-half hour of work for the lunch monitors each day, not when they are supervising but when they are doing clerical work.

Find out what's happening in New Hyde Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Overall the cuts made by district is over $800,000 in the proposed budget.  Assistant Superintendent of Business Michael Frank explained that the rates for benefits are set by the State. Benefits like Teacher and Employer Retirement Systems and the New York State Health Insurance Program are so high because this is what the State imposes on the district. In addition, in order to offset the tax levy, funds and reserves will be used.

The budget vote election will take place on Tuesday, May 17 at from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. If you are not registered to vote you can do so anytime by picking up a registration card. You can also register at Manor Oaks School on May 10 from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.

If the budget does not pass the board can hold a re-vote or fall back on the contingency budget. In the event of contingency budget, an additional $388,000 would come directly out of the budget. When the two budgets were compared it was approximately a $40 difference for the average tax payer between the proposed and contingency budget. This is a greater difference when it impacts the services that are given to the students.  

Here are some other highlights discussed at the New Hyde Park – Garden City Park Board Meeting:

  •  students were recognized for their achievements as Math Olmpiads. First place: Mark Niewierowski, Third place team winners: Sukhmanbir Athwal, Daniel Celic, Rena Fukuda, Austin Manjila and Mark Niewierowski.
  • The following students were in the Nassau Community College Science Fair: Cassidy Rivers, Camyrn Dluginski and Brianna Kurtin.
  • Alan Cooper will be seeking reelection for the board of education in May.
  • Annette Giarratani’s is resigning from the school board committee.  
We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?