Many District 14 Voters Say They Support Budget

Many District 14 voters Tuesday afternoon said they approved the proposed $103 million budget because they felt it was the right thing to do for the students.

“All of the things we’ve paid for have gotten me through high school. If the budget fails you’d have to make cuts,” said Matthew Tinkelman, a Hewlett High School senior who was voting with his mother, Rachele. “It’s best for future generations so they can become well rounded students.”

The proposed budget keeps most, if not all, school programs intact, and at 2.37 percent, is the smallest increase District 14 has asked for from its population in years. School district officials say the jump in taxes is to make up for increased mandated expenses from the state and federal governments, such as pensions.

Still for some voters, Hewlett-Woodmere has been asking for too much.

“I voted it down. I think it’s excessive and there’s a tremendous amount of waste,” said Howard Berger of Woodmere. He pointed to the Woodmere Education Center, which houses the administration, as a waste of money, and the district’s decision to refuse money from the federal government.

A Woodmere resident, who would only give her initial, S., said that taxes are “way too high.” “We’re paying almost double per student as District 15,” she said. “We’re not a cash cow.”

Still, many of the dozen residents who spoke to Patch between 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the Woodmere Education Center said they voted in favor of the budget.

“Education is very important for the kids of this community,” said Carol Harrison of Woodmere.

Hewlett resident and 2006 Hewlett graduate David Kislik, son of School Board Trustee Harold Kislik, said he “believes in the district and in a good education, and that requires funding.”

Rachele Tinkelman said that future students deserve the same opportunities that her son had. “It’s important to have the extras that are so important to our kids," she said, "whether you have kids in the district or not.”