North Shore School District budget passes by wide margin

The North Shore High School gymnasium was quiet on Tuesday night as volunteers counted the votes for next year’s budget, with staff, Board of Education trustees and district residents holding their breath in anticipation. When the results were finally announced, the silence was broken by an eruption of cheers.

The North Shore school district’s spending plan for the 2024-25 school year passed, by a count of 2,043 to 1,172.

The budget addresses the school district’s significant financial challenges while preserving key programs. It features a tax levy increase of just under four percent, to help counter the district’s $7.5 million deficit, exacerbated by revenue losses from a 2022 deal with the Long Island Power Authority and expiring grants.

While the budget’s passage means the district will not have to revert to a contingency budget — which would have forced significant reductions in expenditures and led to cuts in extracurriculars like athletics and the arts — the district still faces a long uphill financial battle.

North Shore will continue to feel the effects of the LIPA deal for several years, but with the spending plan having been approved, students’ educational opportunities will not be affected.
There were no additional propositions included on this year’s ballot.

In the Board of Education election, incumbent Trustees Lisa Colacioppo and Maria Mosca were re-elected with 2,087 and 1,881 votes, respectively, and newcomer James Svendsen secured a seat with 1,800 votes. Svendsen will serve the remaining year of the term of Marianne Russo, who stepped down from the board this year.