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Hauppauge school district

The Eagle banner at Hauppauge High School. Photo by Rita J. Egan

By Sabrina Artusa

At the Feb. 27 Hauppauge Board of Education meeting, the board previewed a 2024-25 budget overview, which projects a 3.38% increase to the tax levy and a 3.28% increase in expenditures.

Of the total expenditures, which are expected to be $133,216,224, 70% is consigned to staffing. According to the assistant superintendent for business and operations, Brigid Siena, it is the largest to date. 

“The revenues have to meet and match the expenditures,” Siena said. She also noted that federal COVID-19 grants have expired and that $1 million in programs and salaries will be absorbed in the forthcoming general fund budget.

District enrollment has declined since 2022 and is expected to continue declining into 2025. This trend, however, is not unique to the Hauppauge school district, as Superintendent Donald Murphy noted. Data from the Education Trust-New York shows that statewide enrollment has decreased by 8% from the 2017-18 school year to the 2022-23 school year.

Murphy said, “Although enrollment has gone down, we have increased enrollment in different classes of students … so students with disabilities [and] our English language learners have gone up quite a bit.”

Hauppauge school district is not one of the 44 Long Island districts set to lose money according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) preliminary budget for 2025. The district was originally allocated a gain of $769,125 in state aid, but the amount will not be certain until the plan is approved by the New York State Legislature by April 1.

There will be several budget workshops and hearings leading to the annual budget vote on May 21. The first workshop will be on March 12 and will review the tax cap and revenue. 

The board also met for an executive meeting, where the members consulted with their attorney regarding the ongoing case, Jane Doe v. Hauppauge Union Free School District. This case was one of the many initiated against Long Island school districts via the New York Child Victims Act, which expanded the statute of limitations and permits victims of crimes committed on them as children to file a lawsuit until their 55th birthday. 

Murphy announced several upcoming charity events including a fundraising contest with West Islip school district to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project on April 4 and a Hoop for Heroes event at Hauppauge High School on April 5.

Michael Caulin, the new principal of Forest Brook Elementary School in Hauppauge. Photo courtesy Hauppauge Public Schools

Hauppauge school district announced the appointment of Michael Caulin as the new principal of Forest Brook Elementary School during its board of education meeting on July 25.

Caulin, formerly the assistant principal at Hauppauge Middle School, will be taking over the role from beloved principal Reingold, who will remain in the district as their new director of English language arts and reading. 

Caulin will be entering his 20th year as an administrator within the Hauppauge School District. Beginning in 2004, Caulin served as the assistant principal at Hauppauge High School for 14 years. He served as the assistant principal at Hauppauge Middle School for the past five. Prior to his time in Hauppauge, Caulin was an English teacher at Mill River Union High School in Vermont for six years and at Whitehall Central School in Whitehall, New York for two years.  

 “Hauppauge is more than just a school district. It has been my home for the past 20 years, and I am profoundly fortunate to have found myself spending the majority of my career in such a wonderful district where I will continue to be positively impacted by the students, families, community, faculty and staff,” said Caulin. “My goal each and every day will continue to make Hauppauge, and Forest Brook Elementary School, a place where students get the best education and the greatest social, emotional and academic experience a child and a family can have each and every day.”

Superintendent of Schools Donald Murphy added, “Throughout his tenure here in Hauppauge, Mr. Caulin has proven to be a kind, caring, bright and dedicated leader. I am excited to see all that he will bring to this new role.” 

Stock photo

Town of Smithtown residents who turned out to vote in school elections May 17 approved their district’s budgets. They also voted incumbents back in to retain their seats on the boards of education.

Commack Union Free School District

The $ 214,645,326 budget for 2022-23 was passed with 2,392 votes. There were 815 who voted “no.” Proposition 2 to decrease transportation limits in grades three through five from 1/2 mile to a 1/4 mile was also passed, 2,376 to 814.

The budget for next academic year is an increase of 4.64% over last year. This will result in a tax levy increase of 1.95%, under the tax cap of 3.82%. This includes a state aid package of $43 million.

Incumbents Steven Hartman and Justin Varughese retained their seats with 2,277 and 2,247 votes, respectively. Newcomers Pauline Fidalgo received 877 and Christopher Jurkovic 893.

Hauppauge Union Free School District

Hauppauge residents passed the $123,913,904 budget, 639-300. The budget reflects a 3.29% increase over last year and a 1.22% tax levy increase.

Three candidates ran for three seats, incumbent and board vice president Rob Scarito, 617; Michael Buscarino, 651; and incumbent and current board president David Barshay, 624.

Kings Park Central School District

The Kings Park $102.24 million budget was approved by voters, 2,229 to 1,125. The budget is an increase of 1.94% over last year. This will result in a 2.99% tax levy increase, or $23.39 more per year for the average taxpayer.

Trustees Pam DeFord and Dan Tew did not seek reelection, leaving two seats up for election. Patrick Hanley, 1,879 votes, and Shala Pascucci, 1,737, will be the new board trustees beginning July 1. They defeated Jaime Lelle, 1,529, and Douglas Cerrato, 1,490.

Smithtown Central School District

Smithtown school district residents approved the $267,786,882 budget, 5,250 to 2,241. The 2022-23 budget reflects a dollar change of $5,467,217 from last year’s budget of $262,319,665. The tax levy is 1.2% and is below the district’s allowable tax levy.

Proposition 2, establishing a capital reserve, passed 5,249 to 2,241. 

Michael Catalanotto and Michael Saidens won back their seats, with 4,582 and 4,590 votes, respectively. This will be the second term for Catalanotto and the third for Saidens.

Charles Fisher, who challenged Catalanotto for his seat received 3,201 votes, and Angela Kouvel, who challenged Saidens, received 3,157.

In a joint statement sent May 18, Catalanotto and Saidens thanked Smithtown voters “for putting your confidence and trust in us.”

“We are honored to be reelected with nearly 60% of the vote,” they said. “The parents and residents had a choice to make, and voted to keep Smithtown schools great, support all of our students and protect our property values. People were fed up with our children being used as political footballs, and roundly rejected efforts to destabilize our schools. We couldn’t be prouder of the hard work our teachers, administrators and staff do, each and every day, in running a world-class school district and they will continue to have our strong support.”

The Eagle banner at Hauppauge High School. Photo by Rita J. Egan

By Chris Cumella

The Hauppauge school district board of education election and budget vote is set to take place on Tuesday, May 18. It will feature four candidates vying for two places hoping to represent the best of the hamlet and its educational values. The three-year term starts July 1 and ends June 30, 2024.

With BOE trustee Stacey Weisberg deciding not to run for reelection, the candidates are as follows:

Megan Asseng

Megan Asseng

Megan Asseng works as an assistant vice president for Northwell Health. She moved to Hauppauge with her husband a decade ago and happily settled into the small-town atmosphere.

“It was a very tight-knit community and thought it would be the best place for our children’s education,” Asseng said. “I have a vested interest in assuring that Hauppauge’s school district succeeds because my children will be there too.”

COVID-19 had forced many traditionally in-person meeting formats to be on remote collaborations, and schools have been no exception. Asseng believes that because of COVID, there will be a rocky transition back into even more full classrooms from online ones. Her platform revolves around creating effective plans for children to adapt once again to face-to-face learning environments.

By working collaboratively with the school administration, teachers, parents and students alike, Asseng is hoping to incorporate diverse ideas from her community and rehabilitate a sense of communication that she says the school district needs.

“I am a firm believer that education is the key to our children’s success,” she said. “The board of education is where those decisions will start to set our children up for that success.”

Colleen Capece

With her husband and four sons, Colleen Capece has lived in Hauppauge for over 15 years. She’s special projects coordinator with Suffolk County and has worked for a Wall Street law firm.

Envisioning success in the youth of Hauppauge is a pedestal of Capece’s campaign as she upholds a need to strengthen the means of communication between the board and the school administrations.

“There’s a little bit of a frustration from people because they feel as though their voices are not being heard,” Capece said. “We want to have a community where you can be able to voice your concerns and always find answers.”

Additionally, she has proposed a partnership with local organizations and corporations, allowing leniency for internships or mentorships with rising high school seniors as an incentive to “provide an avenue for graduation.” She emphasized the importance of a student heading out into the workforce today and how their real-world experiences will demonstrate their abilities and growth.

Shifting her experience from that of a parent to an advocate of all children is a specialty that Capece says she can utilize if elected. Doing so would allow her to give back to the community that she says has provided so much for all children in the district.

“I listen, I empathize, I want to listen to problems and work through them with others,” she said. “We must give all of our children the opportunities that they need to be successful.”

Gemma Salvia

For Gemma Salvia, being the principal of Seneca Middle School in Sachem school district has been a rewarding and enriching experience that she loves to do every day.

“This is part of who I am,” she said. “It’s what I know, and it is what I love.”

Spending some 25 years in Hauppauge with her husband and two children has allowed Salvia to identify the educational system in the district and pinpoint what seems in need of improvement.

In her platform, Salvia explains that being a community member allows her to see issues through multiple lenses, as a parent and an educator. She attributes both perspectives being in the best interests of the district’s students. Having spoken to many students in her time, she recognizes that it is difficult to see students’ struggles accurately unless there is an open and friendly dialogue between staff and students.

Salvia credits being transparent and accountable as assets when it comes to potentially becoming a board member. Bringing multiple views to new developments is an active step toward a more progressive and successful outcome for those attending or working in the school district.

Michael Buscarino

Six-year BOE incumbent Michael Buscarino could not be reached for comment before press time. He has lived with his wife in the area since 2005 and they have five children. After a brief career with NYPD, he joined Suffolk police and is now a sergeant with the county police academy.

Residents of the school district can cast their votes on May 18 at Whiporwil School at 495 Hoffman Lane in Hauppauge between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Smithtown school district's administrative Joseph M. Barton building on New York Avenue. Photo by Kyle Barr

By Leah Chiappino and Rita Egan

Smithtown residents voted on school budgets and board of education candidates May 21.

Smithtown Central School District

The Smithtown school district community passed the 2019-20 budget, 1,995 to 781.

Superintendent James Grossane applauded the passage of the budget.

“We worked very hard with the board of education to create a budget that supports programming for our students and makes sure we can give them the best education possible,” he said. “To have the community support for that is just a wonderful thing.”

Regarding voter turnout, Grossane stated that while he was pleased with the margin of victory, “we always hope that more and more folks come out.” He also said that the district is looking toward better supporting students emotionally by hiring support staff such as full-time social workers in elementary schools, continuing to add guidance counselors to the middle school and expanding psychological services.

In the election for BOE trustees, Michael Catalanotto defeated Peter Tufo in the race for resigning member Daniel Lynch’s seat, 1,853 to 836. Catalanotto said his three children and the his wife being a teacher inspired him to run. His central initiative is mental health and social media. He sees increasing parental involvement as a way to combat issues concerning social media usage among students, particularly middle-schoolers. He said that this along with looking at the statistics concerning mental health and social media and ways to limit access to it could be keys to solving its problems, and he looks forward to working on it. His three-year-term begins July 1. For a one-year term effective immediately, Jerry Martusciello defeated Ralph Michele 1,511 to 891 after the resignation of Joanne McElroy.

Kings Park School District

Kings Park residents passed the $93,880,803 budget, Proposition 1, on the ballot, 985 to 376. They also had the opportunity to vote on the creation of a new capital reserve account, Proposition 2, which was approved, 987-363.

Incumbents Pam DeFord and Dan Tew regained their seats on the board, 1,106 and 1,046, respectively. Challenger JP Andrade received 264 votes.

Tew said he looks forward to working with the board as far as bond work and moving the district forward technology-wise, including making Chromebooks accessible to students to go paperless.

Pam DeFord thanked the community for their support and passing the budget.

“Looking at the numbers, they speak for themselves, they show that the community is happy with what we’re doing so we’ll continue doing what we’re doing, and I look forward to serving the community for the next three years,” DeFord said.

Hauppauge School District

Hauppauge residents passed the $116,054,674 budget, 754-340. Proposition 2 also passed, 833-258, to allow spending from capital reserves for roof replacement at Pines Elementary School and districtwide bathroom reconstruction. BOE incumbents David Barshay, 735 votes, Gary Fortmeyer, 771, and Rob Scarito, 757, retained their seats.

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The New York State comptroller said overtime was not monitored as efficiently as possible at schools, including Hauppauge Middle School. File photo

By Wenhao Ma

Hauppauge school district reportedly failed to efficiently monitor employee overtime to ensure that the district is incurring only necessary costs.

According to an audit report released by the New York State Comptroller’s office, the staff at Hauppauge did not fully comply with the district’s procedures for obtaining preapproval for overtime during a period from July 1, 2014 to Aug. 31, 2015.

The report said employees must obtain approval before working overtime, however there are not “adequate procedures in place to ensure overtime is pre-approved.”

Out of the select 15 payments that contained the highest amount of overtime pay in the report, none of the overtime hours worked had been preapproved.

The audit used one security guard as an example.

The chosen security guard worked 33.5 overtime hours and received overtime payments totaling $1,143 for “video room coverage.” According to the report, even though district timesheets provide space for supervisors to preapprove overtime, department and security office supervisors did not approve the overtime on the record before the work was started.

“New procedures will be created requiring overtime and the associated justification to be pre-approved by department supervisors,”  — James Stucchio

The report listed two recommendations for district officials: to implement procedures to approve and provide justification for overtime prior to the work being performed and review security staffing and to determine whether work shifts can be rearranged to incorporate video room coverage into a regular workday, instead of an employee monitoring cameras during off hours.

Hauppauge administration accepted the recommendations and promised to implement new measures within the next 90 days. The district said the current protocol is to approve overtime after the work has been performed, but they would look at reversing the process.

“New procedures will be created requiring overtime and the associated justification to be pre-approved by department supervisors,” James Stucchio, deputy superintendent, said in a response to the report. “This will protect the district from unauthorized extra work and allow for the possible rearranging of shifts to lower or eliminate the need for the overtime.”

Additionally, Hauppauge said it will review the shifts for the security staff in order to determine if coverage for monitoring the surveillance system and other related work can be incorporated into regular shifts, and examine if it needs to add a part-time staff member to lower or eliminate the overtime.