North Bellmore School Budget Passes

The proposed 2013-14 North Bellmore School Budget was approved Tuesday with 1,150 yes votes compared to 725 no votes.

Superintendent Arnold Goldstein said that his administration had succeeded in preserving the district’s strong educational base going forward into next year. 

The 2013-2014 budget comes in at $50,498,245, a 4.98 percent increase over the previous year’s budget of $48,101,775. The Tax Levy is set at 2.5 percent, well below the New York State-allowed cap of 3.43 percent.

Assistant Superintendent of Business Mark Schissler stated that the newly-approved budget was a triumph in light of the financial woes facing many schools in New York State, and encouraged residents to vote to approve it. 

“The Board of Education and I are very grateful to our community for supporting the budget,” Goldstein said. “This vote expresses the unyielding commitment of North Bellmore to our children’s education and to ensuring that they are well prepared to meet the challenges of the future.”

Peter Mayo was able to unseat Rosemarie Corless for one seat on the North Bellmore Board of Education. JoAnn DeLauter and Frank LaMagra tied with 799 votes apiece, and there will have to be another vote to see who gets the second seat.

"We've never had this before," Goldstein said. "We have to figure it out."

The proposition to change the method of voting to an at-large system passed by a wide margin, school officials said.

For more information on the North Bellmore School Budget, click here.

This is a breaking news story, and Patch will provide more information as it's made available.