School budget and trustee voting on Tuesday

Hewlett-Woodmere and Lawrence, the two public school districts in the Five Towns have their ballots set. Residents of the two districts will be voting for three propositions each, as well for two Board of Education seats in Lawrence, and three in Hewlett-Woodmere.

Asher Matathias is running against Lawrence Board of Education incumbent Trustee Heshy Blachorsky, who is looking to win his second term, while Mathias has run for a seat on the board in every election for the past five years. Abel Feldhammer, will be running for his fourth term on the board unopposed.

In Hewlett-Woodmere, Melissa Gates, is running for her third term on the board, and Central Council PTA members Judy Menashe and Debi Sheinin are running to replace trustees Jonathan Altus and Stephen Witt, who are stepping down. All three candidates are running unchallenged.

The budgets are the first proposition on each ballot. Hewlett-Woodmere’s proposed budget for the 2018-2019 school year is $119.79 million. The spending increase of 2.86 percent matches the first proposed tax levy uptick in three years.

Lawrence’s proposed budget of $102.44 million, is an increase of 1.65 percent, but there is no tax-cap increase. The district is aiming to offer Mandarin as an elective; ensure a 1 to 1 student ratio with Chromebooks, and install vape detectors in the bathrooms.

If approved, Hewlett-Woodmere’s Proposition 2 would allow the district to spend $14.76 million from the capital reserve fund for building improvements and district-wide technology upgrades. Lawrence’s Proposition 3 is for a transfer of $4 million to the capital reserve fund to pay for similar repairs and upgrades throughout the school year.

The final proposition on each ballot is the budgets for the Hewlett-Woodmere and Peninsula public libraries. The HWPL proposed a budget of $6.43 million, which includes an increase of $71,416 over the current fiscal plan.

The total proposed budget for PPL was increased from $3.22 million in 2017-2018, to $3.37 million for 2018-2019. The requested tax appropriation also increased from $2.94 million to just over $3 million.

Hewlett-Woodmere district residents can vote at the Woodmere Education Center at 1 Johnson Place, Woodmere, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on May 15. Lawrence residents vote in one of four venues: Primary School at Number Two School, 1 Donahue Ave., Inwood; Lawrence Middle School, 195 Broadway, Lawrence; Lawrence High School, 2 Reilly Road, Cedarhurst; and Atlantic Beach Village Hall, 65 The Plaza, Atlantic Beach.