School Budget Voter's Guide

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday at as residents cast their votes on a $216 million Half Hollow Hills school budget for next year.

Residents will also elect three new members to the school board. 

Despite continued cuts in state aid, the proposed budget is spared the draconian instructional and program cuts that have inflicted several other Long Island districts. 

The district will let go of 14 teachers at the elementary level due to declincing enrollment. Salaries for teachers and administrators will be frozen next year, at a savings of $3 million. Eligible teachers will still receive automatic step increases.

If the budget is voted down, district officials will have three choices: they can immediately adopt a contingency budget, they can put the same proposed budget up for a vote again or they can alter the details of the budget for a new vote. 

A contingency budget would require the district to cut costs by an additional $4.1 million.

By the Numbers:

School Board Election

Candidates Betty DeSabato, Maria Holmquist and Paul Peller are running as a team for the three open school board slots. Chris Schiavo and Diana Acampora are the other two candidates.

The top three vote getters will be elected to a three-year term on the board. For biographical infomation and to see where the candidates stand on the issues, click and .

Patch Candidate Profiles

(Editor's note: DeSabato, Holmquist and Peller did not respond to requests for an interview.)

The results

Be sure to check Half Hollow Hills Patch Tuesday evening for updates on the results of the budget vote and school board election. We’ll have full coverage as soon as the information becomes available.