New Hyde Park-Garden City Park Notebook: Dec. 12

If you missed Monday’s  Board of Education meeting, here are some of the highlights:

• New Hyde Park-Garden City Park school officials announced that the state repealed the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s payroll tax last week. As a result of this repeal, the district will collectively save $330,000. Board Trustee Patricia Rudd said the repeal is a “big win” for all school districts. 
• Students in special education self-contained classrooms have quickly learned how to utilize SMARTTables, one of the newest instructional tools available. The students have experienced programs in ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies. 
• Students across the district have been heavily involved in seasonal service projects for the community. Manor Oaks reached out to Toys for Totsand Ronald McDonald House; New Hyde Park Road School has participated in Hat, Mittens, and Scarf Tree for St. Christopher’s Orphanage and Toys for Tots; Garden City Park has helped with the Penny Harvest, Heavenly Hat Drive, Holiday Bags for Veterans, Wounded Warrior Collection, Hat Mittens, and Coat Collection; Hillside Grade has donated to Toys for Tots, Mittens, Scarf, and Hat Trees sponsored by the Student Council, and 10 Food Baskets for Hillside School Families.
• The Board of Education members reminded the public that the board does not have the unilateral authority to override the tax levy cap contrary to recent reports in the press. In order for the school district’s budget to exceed the tax levy cap, at least 60% of the residents who vote on the budget must vote “yes” for the budget as per ducation Law 2023 a (6)(A). 
• Superintendent Robert Katulak announced that starting in January, the board invites parents to share their input about what they would like to see in the budget. 

Correction: The amount reported as savings for the NHP-GCP UFSD for the MTA tax being eliminated from the district budget is incorrect. It was estimated at the meeting that it was between $63K and $65K for the NHP-GCP UFSD. The actual reduction in the budget is $63,730. We regret the error.