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Image provided by: Suffolk Cooperative Library System
SOUTH SHORE L.I'S LARGEST CIRCULATION WEEKLY NEWSPAPER S erving the com m unity since 1966 P rinted on recycled paper W ebsite : www . babylo n b e a c o n . com E-MAIL ADDRESS: ACJNEWS@RCN.COM O F F IC IA L N E W S P A P E R Periodicals Postage Paid- Babylon Post Office, Babylon NY 11702 (USPS 03960-8000) FOR SUFFOLK COUNTY •TOWN OF BABYLON . VILLAGE OF BABYLON •B A B Y T O W 1 ---------- •WESTI 10L\\ AM ’ NOl.VcK •CÖPIAG Mr. M o a v a w a a a s •NORTH B/ ° „ ’ m WA. published Founders Edward D Wolfe, Jane D. Wolfe Publishers, Carolyn and Alfred James Inside this w eek: • A round Town . . . Page 2 • O b itu a ries. . . Page 9C See Inside for hool and Sports news ru o lic N otices: Your Right to Know: Pages . . . 6 , 7 , 8C, 9C & IOC The Babylon Beacon is the hometown newspaper of Phyllis Black o f West Babylon VOL. 4 4 NO. 11 THURSDAY, March 18,2010 50 CENTS In the News S im Babylon School D istrict presents initial budget p roposal; n ext m eeting M arch 2 2 M i i i l i m T h e L i b e r t y League has a n n o u n c e d its w e e k l y aw a r d winners in men’s a n d w o m e n ’s indoor track & field and four Rensse laer Polytechnic In s t i tu t e (R P I ) student-athletes have been recognized, including David Kastner of West Islip who was named Rookie of the Week. A freshman from West Islip, Kastner earned Rookie of the Week honors for the second time this season after finishing as the top overall rookie performer at the NYSCTC Pentathlon. He posted sixth o f 13 competitors with 3,014 points. In addition to finishing second in the 55-hurdles with a time of 8.12, the former West Islip High School standout also finished fourth in the shot put (9.68m). He rounded out the competition placing fifth in the high jump (1.80m), ninth in the long jump (5.55m) and 12th in the 1000-run (3:04.09). B i l ly M c S h a n e , a senior at West Babylon High School, has been selected by Music for All to perform in the 2010 Jazz Band of Am erica, one of the nations finest music ensembles. Billy is a member of the West Babylon High School Symphonic Band under the direction of Dana Meadows, and the Nassau/ Suffolk Performing Arts Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Bill Katz. T h e Jazz B a n d o f A m e rica is a national en s e m b le u n d e r the d irectio n of Dr. Lou Fischer of the Capital University Conservatory o f Music and president-elect of the Jazz Education Network. The 19 members of this years’ Jazz Band represent 12 states and were selected by recorded auditions evaluated by leading music educators. The Jazz Band of America performed in concert on March 5, during the Music for All National Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana. Billy plays baritone saxophone and was recently chosen to perform in the 2009 All-State Wind Ensemble in Rochester, New York He was also selected to be a member of the Suffolk County Music Educators’ Association All- County Jazz Ensemble on tenor saxophone. by Janine Logan The weak economy continues to make budgeting a tough job, especially for public school districts that must adopt budgets before final state aid and revenue figures are in. At a March 8, board of education meeting, Babylon School District Trustees and community members learned that the preliminary 2010 - 2011 budget increase for the Babylon School District right now is hovering at about 2.8 percent. Deputy Superintendent Peter Daly presented the framework of the district's proposed spending plan at the meeting. \This budget is a work in progress,\ emphasized Daly. \This budget is quite lean. We experienced some savings through teacher retirements and reductions in (Continued on page 3) March Madness! A storm hit the South Shore over the weekend, packing 70 mph winds and wreaking havoc on trees, power lines and homes. See page 5 fo r story and photos. In photo, tree is toppled on Little East Neck Road, Babylon. Photo by Karen Watt WBSD unveils proposed spending plan by Carolyn Janies A proposed 2010-11 school budget—still a work in progress—was outlined to the public at a budget meeting March 2. The plan calls for maintaining all o f the current programs and increasing the line item for equipment, including purchasing three new buses for the district, which provides transportation in house. “This budget did restore some o f the money we had in the equipment lines and took out last year, and it keeps all existing programs in place; it does not cut any existing programs,” said Mark Flower, assistant superintendent for finance and operations who outlined the figures to date. Flower gave the public a breakdown of the proposed spending under the governor’s budget proposal, which calls for a reduction in state aid for West Babylon from last year of approximately $2 million, to $28 million. In the event the legislature does not increase the aid in the Governor’s proposal, the district would face a 7.48 percent increase in the tax rate from $163.04 to $174.66. The proposed budget for the coming year is at $94.1 million. Part o f the plan calls for utilizing some fund balance and contingency funds, where apprppriate, said Flower. And, the school board and administrators will continue to work on the budget in the hope of bringing expenses down further. A budget hearing where the final budget will be outlined to the public is scheduled for April 13. Residents at the meeting said that they hoped the board would consider doing whatever it could to rein in costs, including asking for salary givebacks from employees. “My husband has been out of work for the past year,” said one resident. “So times are pretty tough for everyone.” “Everyone out here is hurting,” said another resident. Superintendent of Schools Anthony Cacciola said that salary scales are part of existing contracts and that any changes would have be part of the collective bargaining process. Flower also outlined a contingency budget in the event the budget is voted down. Under New York State law, a school district can put up a budget two times. If the public defeats them both, the district must go to a contingency budget. Under that plan, the district would be required by law to maintain an increase that is equal to the CPI. However, since the CPI was a minus four percent this year, the district would have to actually reduce this year's budget by approximately $1.5 million, said Flower. As residents asked how the district would handle this, Cacciola said he was not making any decisions about a contingency plan at this time. The school hoard and budget vote is scheduled for Tues., May 1 8 ,7:30 p.m.
