South Huntington school district residents are voting on the school budget and re-election of two school board members by mail-in balloting, which is mandated by the state.
Absentee ballots were sent out in the last few days to registered voters in the district to consider the proposed budget of $174,657,264, a 0.75 percent increase over this year’s budget of $173,351,959. Like all school budgets this year, South Huntington’s is fraught with questions as administrators wait to hear from the state about further expected cuts in aid and the many unknowns about when and under what conditions schools might reopen.
The candidates for two spots on the school board are incumbents Andrew Bronner and Sidney Joyner.
Superintendent David Bennardo said, “Basically there never been such a giant unknown” in planning the budget, with the potential for cuts that could come as late as December. Questions about whether the federal government will approve increased aid to states to help with such costs as police, fire and education are leaving many municipal and state budgets in limbo.
Bennardo said funds saved this semester, such as bus fuel costs, sports-related expenditures, etc., have been taken into account and applied to the coming year. The district is working on an assessment to identify employees in non-educational roles who might have skills that could be applied to the core educational mission.
Ballots for the budget proposal and the two board candidates must be received by the district clerk by 5 p.m. June 9.
On Monday, the district will present information at its annual public hearing; t 7:30 p.m. virtually. The link for the meeting will be found on the district website at: www.shufsd.org
Qualified voters must be US citizens, at least 18 years old, a resident of the school district for at least 30 days before the election, and not otherwise prohibited from voting under the provisions of Section 5-106 of the Election Law.
Anyone not already registered to vote with the Suffolk County Board of Elections but otherwise qualified to vote can request a ballot by contacting Laura McLean, district clerk, at [email protected].
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State to Send All Voters Absentee Ballot Applications for June Primary