North Babylon School Voters Guide 2010

VOTING

7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Marion G. Vedder, Parliament Place, Woods Road and Belmont elementary schools

THE BUDGET

The district is proposing a budget of $107,162,659 for the 2010-11 school year, an increase of 2.52 percent over the current $104,526,908. The tax levy would rise from $53,643,908 to $54,987,693, an increase of 2.51 percent.

The average homeowner with a house assessed at $3,700 would pay $6,095.49 in taxes, a 2.9 percent increase from the current $5,923.44.

The budget includes a 3 percent contractual raise for teachers and a 2 percent step increase. It also calls for the reduction of 14.5 full-time teaching positions and another 5.5 full-time staff positions.

The district plans to eliminate ninth-grade sports teams and consolidate seventh- and eighth-grade sports teams.

Extracurricular and co-curricular clubs also are being reduced.

District website:

northbabylonschools.net

THE CANDIDATES

Incumbents James Shinnick and John Caroleo are running unopposed for seats with three-year terms.

Salvatore Levanti, Robert Scheid and Garrett Simulcik Sr. are running for the seat vacated by William Harrigan. That term will expire in 2012.

Salvatore LevantiBACKGROUND: Levanti, 43, is a lifelong resident of the district and a graduate of North Babylon High School. Since 1986 he has owned and run his own food distribution business. He and his wife, Christina, have three children attending schools in the district.

ISSUES: Levanti said that as a business owner he knows how to manage a budget and negotiate cost savings and would bring that experience to the school board. At the same time that the district needs to find ways to be more efficient, Levanti said, it is also important to give students the tools that they need, including more up-to-date textbooks. "The important issues are making sure the children have the best education and not to jeopardize any of their efforts," Levanti said.

Robert Scheid

BACKGROUND: Scheid, 47, works in the banking and financial services industry. He is a graduate of North Babylon High School and attended Suffolk County Community College and the New York Institute of Technology. He and his wife, Kathy, have three children attending schools in the district. Scheid has lived in the district for 30 years.

ISSUES: Scheid says that the most important issue facing the district is its long-term financing. "We do not have a large tax base to fund our schools and are very dependent on Albany and the generosity of our residents," he said. Scheid said he would look to expand shared services between districts and also for more "equitable sharing of funding from Albany."

Garrett Simulcik Sr.

BACKGROUND: Simulcik, 61, works as a legal administrator for a law firm and has lived in the district for 29 years. He and his wife, Diana, have two grown children who attended elementary, middle and high school in the district. Simulcik received a bachelor's degree in political science from Defiance College in Ohio.

ISSUES: Simulcik said the most important issue facing the district is "striving to provide a quality education while maintaining a meaningful tax base." If elected, he said, he would immediately propose the formation of a committee that would include board members, administrators, teachers and students to review school activities from top to bottom. He said his experience as an administrator would benefit the district.