East Rockaway School budget adopted, presented

Due to an increase in state aid, as well as a last-minute retirement of a long-term teacher, some services and programs that were on the chopping block for elimination have been reinstated he East Rockaway School District. Officials presented their adopted budget of $35,601,664 that will be presented for the public to vote on in the May 15 election.
  According to Superintendent Roseanne Melucci, $35,752 was used from the additional aid to help balancing the budget. “Right before spring break, one of the elementary teachers announced her retirement,” said Melucci, “so with the additional state aid and the savings from the retirement, the Board was able to reinstate some items that were reduced and/or eliminated.”
 The district was able to reinstate a High School Occupational Education Placement; create an elementary teaching assistant position to support instruction at Centre Avenue; provide assistance for ELA and math support in addition to the academies; provide financial resources for middle-school sports, and add back some clubs to the elementary schools and the Jr/Sr. High School. 
“Although we are grateful to have been able to make these changes we were not able to reinstate everything,” said Melucci, who said that the district is still without three classroom positions at Centre Avenue, an elementary school librarian (one of two will be let go); a full-time assistant principal, a full-time custodian, the Greenkill field trip for sixth-grader students (although a donation of more than $1,000 was made to go toward the trip for next year); an ALPSS security guard, summer school, the non-public school late bus, Sprouts program, Arts in Education funding, monitors, clubs, Assistant Varsity Basketball Coach and Cross Country Assistant Coach, and an additional Occupational Education placement. 
“Perhaps next year will be a better year for state aid and we will be able to restore more of the items from this list,” said Melucci.
The school budget vote will be held on Tuesday, May 15 from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

CATCHING THE LATE BUS