West Hempstead school board says budget is 'solid' despite revenue loss, tax levy hike

    Following months of discussions and late-night meetings to revisit, revise and refine next year’s proposed budget, the efforts of West Hempstead Union Free School District’s administration paid off. On April 20, the Board of Education unanimously adopted the budget.
    Despite a drop in revenues and increases in mandated expenditures, the administration managed to reduce the proposed budget-to-budget increase to 3.69 percent, cutting about $1 million in expenses while retaining all programs. It could not spare the tax levy from the affects of the financial situation, and the increase totaled 9.4 percent.
    Although concerned about voters’ reaction to the tax levy increase, the administration is confident in the integrity of the budget. “I think when they really look at the product that we offer and the things that we’re trying to retain for the boys and girls, I think the residents will realize that we’ve done absolutely the best we can this year,” schools Superintendent John Hogan said. “In terms of that [tax levy] number, we certainly are in difficult times and we all understand that we’re in difficult times. All we can do is explain what the challenge was this year and what we’ve tried to do in terms of maintaining the academic validity of what we do for the kids.”
    Deputy Superintendent Richard Cunningham echoed the sentiment, saying, “This budget supports our children. It has enough in it to, with the help of parents, help them grow into vibrant, prosperous adults. However, this is, in our belief, as low as we can get it on the expense side without making dramatic changes in how we educate our kids.”