NOTICE OF BUDGET HEARING, ANNUAL MEETING AND ELECTION
MANHASSET UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT
TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD, COUNTY OF NASSAU, NEW YORK
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that a Budget Hearing of the qualified voters of the Manhasset Union Free School District, Town of North Hempstead, New York, will be held at the Secondary School, 200 Memorial Place, Manhasset, New York and via Zoom Video Communications and via You Tube , which can be viewed by following the link: https://www.manhassetschools.org/Page/10066 on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 8:00 p.m., for the transaction of business as authorized by the Education Law, including the following items:
1. To present to the voters a detailed statement (proposed Budget) of the amount of money that will be required for the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
2. To discuss all the items hereafter set forth to be voted upon at the Budget Vote and Election to be held on Tuesday, May 18, 2021.
3. To transact other business as may appropriately come before the meeting, pursuant to the New York State Education Law.
FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that said budget vote and annual election will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Secondary School, 200 Memorial Place, Manhasset, New York on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at which time the polls will be opened to vote by voting machine upon the following items:
1. To elect two (2) members to the Board of Education each for a term of three (3) years beginning July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2024.
2. To vote on the appropriation of the necessary funds to meet the estimated expenditures of the District for the school year beginning July 1, 2021 (“Proposition 1”), which shall be presented in substantially the following form:
RESOLVED, that the proposed budget of expenditures of the Manhasset Union Free School District of the Town of North Hempstead, County of Nassau, State of New York, for the fiscal year 2021-2022 be adopted and that the sum be raised through a levy upon the taxable property within the School District, after first deducting the monies available from State Aid and other sources, as provided by law.
3. To Vote on the Following Proposition:
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SUBMISSION OF A CAPITAL PROJECTS PROPOSITION
WHEREAS, on December 3, 2014, the voters of Manhasset Union Free School District (“District”) approved the expenditure of not to exceed $22,609,870 for the construction of District-wide improvements to buildings and facilities and the sites thereof (the “Project”) and in the event the Project could be accomplished in all material respects at a cost of less than $22,609,870, the Board of Education (the “Board”) reserved the right to expend any excess funds on additional ancillary infrastructure projects, including District-wide asphalt pavement replacement; and
WHEREAS, the Project has been accomplished in all material respects at a net cost of $20,746,243, leaving $1,863,627 available to be expended towards said asphalt pavement replacement; and
WHEREAS, on October 10, 2017, the Board determined that it was necessary and desirable to undertake the additional ancillary asphalt pavement replacement, including necessary replacement of the water main pipe utility located under the area to be paved, which replacement and remediation was and is a related and necessary component of the asphalt pavement replacement project (“Asphalt and Water Main Project”); and
WHEREAS, it has now been determined that the cost to complete said Asphalt and Water Main Project is $2,870,020, and that voter approval is required to appropriate and expend an additional $1,006,393 available from the District’s General Fund’s Unassigned Fund Balance for that purpose; and
WHEREAS, the Board has also determined that it is necessary and desirable to replace the roof of the 6th grade wing and link corridor at the Shelter Rock Elementary School at an estimated cost of $459,492; to replace the Middle Playground at Munsey Park School at an estimated cost of $151,800, and to renovate classrooms to create a Broadcast Journalism Suite at the Secondary School at an estimated cost of $300,000, and that voter approval is required to appropriate and expend $911,292 available from the District’s General Fund’s Unassigned Fund Balance for that purpose;
NOW, THEREFORE, be it RESOLVED, that the Board hereby authorizes and directs that the following proposition be placed before the voters of the District at the Annual District Meeting and Election to be held on May 18, 2021:
PROPOSITION #2:
RESOLVED, (a) that the Board of Education of the Manhasset Union Free School District is hereby authorized to appropriate and expend $1,006,393 from the District’s General Fund’s Unassigned Fund Balance to pay a like portion of the cost of the asphalt pavement replacement at the Secondary School, including the related and necessary replacement of the water main pipe utility located under the area to be paved (“Asphalt and Water Main Project”), and (b) that the Board of Education is hereby authorized to appropriate and expend $911,292 from the District’s General Fund’s Unassigned Fund Balance to replace the roof of the 6th grade wing and link corridor at the Shelter Rock Elementary School at an estimated cost of $459,492; to replace the Middle Playground at Munsey Park School at an estimated cost of $151,800; and to renovate classrooms to create a Broadcast Journalism Suite at the Secondary School at an estimated cost of $300,000 (“Additional Projects”); all of the foregoing to include site improvements, furnishings, equipment, apparatus, machinery, demolition and other incidental work or improvements required in connection therewith, as well as preliminary and other costs incidental thereto and to the financing thereof; provided that the estimated costs of the Additional Projects as set forth above may be reallocated among such Additional Projects if the Board of Education shall determine that such reallocation is in the best interests of the District.
4. To vote on such other propositions or matters that may be properly presented to the qualified voters.
FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Public Budget Hearing of the Manhasset Public Library for qualified voters of the Manhasset Union Free School District of the Town of North Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, will be held in the Community Room of the Manhasset Public Library, 30 Onderdonk Avenue, Manhasset, New York, on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. A detailed statement of the amount of money which will be required for the 2021-2022 fiscal year for public library purposes of the district will be presented. Beginning Monday, April 19, 2021, a copy of such statement may be obtained by any resident of the District upon request at the Manhasset Public Library, during regular library hours any day that the library is open, or on the Library’s website, www.manhassetlibrary.org and beginning Monday, April 19, 2021 at each of the offices at the following schoolhouses during their normal business hours by appointment only due to Covid-19 restrictions and the District’s visitor policy:
Munsey Park Elementary School
Shelter Rock Elementary School
Manhasset Secondary School
FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that said election and budget vote and election of the Manhasset Public Library will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Secondary School, 200 Memorial Place, Manhasset, New York on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at which time the polls will be opened to vote by voting machine upon the following items:
1. To elect one (1) member to the Board of Trustees of the Manhasset Public Library for a term of five (5) years commencing on July 1, 2021 and expiring on June 30, 2026.
2. To vote on the appropriation of the necessary funds to meet the estimated expenditures of the Manhasset Public Library for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021 (“Proposition 3”), which shall be presented in substantially the following form:
WHEREAS, the budget of the Manhasset Public Library for fiscal year 2020-21, as approved by the Library’s Board and voters, required collecting a tax levy of $5,403,412; and
WHEREAS, the Manhasset Union Free School District, in certifying the amount of taxes to be levied on behalf of the Library during fiscal year 2020-21, mistakenly omitted the sum of $1,022,625 due to a clerical error; and
WHEREAS, the amount of Library taxes billed and collected from Library taxpayers for fiscal year 2020-21was $1,022,625 less than the tax levy authorized, which could impact the Library’s tax levy limit in future years; and
WHEREAS, during fiscal year 2020-21, the School District advanced to the Library, from School District funds, the amount of said shortfall, in order to enable the Library to fund its duly authorized 2020/21 budget despite such shortfall; and
WHEREAS, the School District and Library have pursued special NYS legislation to authorize actions to correct the $1,022,625 shortfall in the Library’s 2020-21 actual, as compared to authorized, tax levy, and the impact on the Library’s tax levy limit in future years; and
WHEREAS, authorization of the Library 2021-22 budget and tax levy must address the possibility that such special legislation may not be enacted by the time of the budget vote;
NOW, THEREFORE, be it RESOLVED, that the amounts of $4,483,269 for public library purposes, and $1,023,000 for Library debt service, are hereby provided for fiscal year 2021-22, so that the total amount of $5,506,269 shall be raised by tax upon the taxable property of the Library district, and shall be levied in one sum for the purposes outlined in the Library budget, and be it further
RESOLVED, that if special legislation to correct the School District’s clerical error with respect to the Library’s tax levy for fiscal year 2020-21 is not enacted prior to the Library 2021-22 budget vote, then there shall be added to the Library’s aforementioned levy of $5,506,269 for fiscal year 2021-22 the amount of $1,022,625, being the amount of both the shortfall in the Library’s 2020-21 actual collected tax levy, and the resulting advance made by the School District to the Library, for reimbursement to the School District for such advance, resulting in a total levy for the Library’s fiscal year 2021-22 of $6,528,894, which sum exceeds the statutory tax levy limit for fiscal year 2021-22, and which sum shall be raised by tax upon the taxable property of the Library district, and shall be levied in one sum for the purposes outlined in the Library budget; provided, however, that for the purpose of calculating the Library tax levy limit for the 2022-23 fiscal year, the amount of the Library tax levy for fiscal year 2021-22 shall be deemed to be $5,506,269, regardless of whether the Library’s actual tax levy for fiscal year 2021-22 is $5,506,269, as contemplated in the preceding resolution, or $6,528,894, as contemplated herein.
FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that petitions containing thirty-one (31) signatures of qualified voters of the District nominating candidates for the office of member of the Board of Education must be filed in the District Clerk’s office, District Office Building, 200 Memorial Place, Manhasset, New York from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on days that school is in session, and not later than 5:00 p.m. on April 19, 2021. The petition must set forth the name and residence of the candidate and the name and residence of each signer. A nomination may be rejected by the Board of Education if the candidate is ineligible for office or declares his/her unwillingness to serve. The two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes shall be considered elected to office.
FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that petitions nominating a candidate for office of member of the Board of Trustees of Manhasset Public Library must be filed with the Administrative Office of the Manhasset Public Library, 30 Onderdonk Avenue, in Manhasset, not later than 5:00 pm on Monday, April 19, 2021. Petition forms may be obtained at the 3nd floor Administration Office, Rm 311 at the Library Monday-Friday 9am-5pm. Nominating petitions shall not describe any specific vacancy upon the board for which the candidate is nominated. Nominating petitions must be signed by at least 25 qualified voters. Each Nominating Petition shall state the name and residence of each signer, and must state the name and residence of the candidate.
FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that a copy of the proposed Budget and text of any proposition to be presented to the voters shall be made available upon request to residents of the School District, in the Business Office, 200 Memorial Place, Manhasset, New York, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and at each school building within the District from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., every day other than Saturday, Sunday or holidays during the 14 days immediately preceding said election of May 18, 2021, and at such annual election.
FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that pursuant to Section 495 of the Real Property Tax Law, the District is required to attach to its proposed budget an exemption report. Said exemption report, which will also become part of the final budget, will show how the total assessed value on the final assessment roll used in the budgetary process is exempt from taxation, list every type of exemption granted by the statutory authority, and show the cumulative impact of each type of exemption, the cumulative amount expected to be received as payments in lieu of taxes and the cumulative impact of all exemptions granted.
FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that pursuant to Education Law 2014, personal registration of voters is required for the annual meeting and budget vote and the library vote, and no person shall be entitled to vote at the annual election whose name does not appear on the register of the District. The names of those persons who have: (a) registered to vote with the County Board of Elections and voted at least once in any local, state or national election within the last four calendar years, or (b) registered to vote with the District’s Board of Registration, or (c) voters permanently registered with the Nassau County Board of Elections are contained on the District’s register. Registration will be conducted from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on days when school is in session in the District Clerk’s office up to and including May 13, 2021, and on Thursday, May 6, 2021 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. through appointment only by contacting the District Clerk by telephone: 516-267-7724 facsimile: 516-627-1618 email: districtclerk@manhassetschools.org pursuant to Covid-19 restrictions and the District’s visitor policy. The register will be filed in the District Clerk’s office and will be open for inspection by any qualified voter of the District on each of the five (5) days prior to the day set for the election from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., except Sundays, and by appointment on the Saturday before the election.
FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that applications for absentee ballots for the school district election and library vote are to be completed on a form prescribed by the state board of elections and may be obtained by visiting the New York State Education Department’s Website: https://www.counsel.nysed.gov/common/counsel/files/absentee-ballot-application-and-instructions-english.pdf https://www.counsel.nysed.gov/common/counsel/files/absentee-ballot-application-and-instructions-spanish.pdf or by contacting the District Clerk by email districtclerk@manhassetschools.org or phone 516-267-7724. Completed applications must be received at least seven (7) days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the applicant, or the day before the election if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the applicant or to his or her designated agent. Absentee ballot applications will not be accepted by the District Clerk before April 19, 2021. Further, no absentee voter’s ballot shall be canvassed unless it has been received at the District Clerk’s office by 5:00 P.M. on the date of the election. A list of all persons to whom absentee ballots shall have been issued will be available during regular office hours in the District Clerk’s office on each of the five days prior to the day of the election, except Sunday, and Saturday by appointment only. Any qualified voter may upon examination of such list, file a written challenge of the qualifications as a voter of any person whose name appears on such list, stating the reasons for such challenge, prior to such ballots being canvassed.
FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that pursuant to Education Law §2018-d, any person serving in the military, including spouses and dependents, may register to vote in the upcoming school district and library election. A military voter who is a qualified voter of the school district may obtain a registration form by contacting the District Clerk by telephone: 516-267-7724 facsimile: 516-627-1618 email: districtclerk@manhassetschools.org or mail: District Clerk, Manhasset UFSD, 200 Memorial Place, Manhasset, NY 11030, or in person by appointment only due to Covid-19 restrictions and the District’s visitor policy (during regular office hours of 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.. A military voter who is duly registered may apply for a military ballot by requesting an application form from the District Clerk. Completed applications must be personally delivered or mailed to the District Clerk and received no later than 5:00 p.m. on April 22, 2021. Military ballots must be received by 5:00 p.m. on May 18, 2021 if signed and dated by the military voter and one witness thereto with a date which is not later than the day before the election, or not later than the close of the polls on May 18, 2021 if postmarked or endorsed by an agency of the United States government. A military voter may designate a preference to receive a military voter registration form, military ballot application or military ballot by mail, facsimile or electronic mail in the request for such registration, ballot application, or ballot.
FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that this Board shall convene a special meeting thereof within 24 hours after the filing with the District Clerk of a written report of the results of the ballot for the purpose of examining and tabulating said reports of the result of the ballot and declaring the result of the ballot; that the Board hereby designates itself to be a set of poll clerks to cast and canvass ballots pursuant to Education Law §2019-a(2)(b) at said special meeting of the Board.
Christine Michelen
District Clerk
Manhasset U.F.S.D.
