Thursday, July 10, 2025
Voters in East Rockaway approved a proposition on May 20 authorizing the school district to direct an additional $250,000 from the district’s capital reserve fund on Building Improvements and Repairs III, by a vote of 373 to 115.
The project, renovating the historic cupola at the East Rockaway Junior-Senior High School, is scheduled for the 2025-26 school year, and the Board of Education is authorized to reallocate component costs as needed, provided there is no material change in the project’s scope.
Michael Van Wart, the district’s assistant superintendent of finance and operations for the East Rockaway School District, said the work would start this summer and be completed by September.
Van Wart also noted that the bell tower would also be refitted with the original bell, which was removed decades ago due to weather damage. He explained that using weather-resistant vinyl, instead of the unprotected wood used previously, is vital for the cupola to withstand the weather.
The funding supplements $313,000 approved by voters in May 2023 for the High School Cupola Replacement project. The total, $563,000, will cover construction, equipment and other associated costs, with no additional tax impact on district residents.
“It’s a symbol of the community, and a part of our history,” Van Wart said of the cupola.
Voters approved the East Rockaway schools’ $47 million spending plan for next year — an increase of 3.72 percent over the current budget — by a vote of 347 to 155. In the neighboring Lynbrook district, the $110.2 million budget for 2025-26, 3.53 percent larger than this year’s, was approved by a vote of 764 to 270.
