F.S. budget passes, incumbents return to seats

Franklin Square Union Free School District’s 2013-14 budget of $35,561,500 passed on Tuesday by a vote of 979 to 591.

The approved budget will be $1,128,471 more than the current year’s budget – an increase of 3.28 percent, 2.2 percent of which is from state-mandated retirement costs.

The tax levy increase will be 3.37 percent, which is also the maximum allowable limit. The average home will see an estimated tax increase of $107.

School Board President Joseph Armocida and Trustee Jerome Monaco, who ran unopposed, will return to their posts again.

Armocida, a Franklin Square resident for the past 24 years, has served on the Board of Education since 2001. He has been president since 2006.

Monaco has been a resident of Frank Square for over 20 years and was a member of Franklin Square District 17’s Citizens’ Budget Advisory Committee for four years before being appointed to the School Board.

“It was a great night for the students of the Franklin Square school district,” Armocida said. “Our community came out and fully supported the budget so that we can continue providing our students the excellent education that Franklin Square has come to expect.”

Sewanhaka Central High School District’s budget of $171,785,427, which is $4,751,595, or 2.84 percent more than the current year’s budget, was also approved Tuesday, by a vote of 3,328 to 2,207.