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School News

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Massapequa Wins Nassau Mock Trial Tournament

MHS team beats 44 other schools to win championship.

Some of the finest legal minds in Nassau County can be found at Massapequa High School. We may be jumping the gun a bit, but students at the High School's Mock Trial Team are off to a flying start after they took first place in the Nassau County championship. The students beat out 44 other schools and about 500 other students to take the title. The tournament was sponsored by the Nassau County Bar Association and lawyers and judges volunteered as advisers and trial judges. Massapequa was led by Coach Dan Bachman and volunteer attorney-advisor Brian Draper.  Each team had the chance to participate as both prosecutors or defense attorneys during the tournament and winning teams advanced each round until a champion was declared. Massapequa …

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Weigh in on School Election Results

Let us know what surprised you about Tuesday night's results.

The voting has wrapped up and the work ahead is about to begin. The Massapequa school budget passed by a 64 percent margin while two school board members were elected. Joe was elected for his first term and Board President Maryanne Fisher has been elected for a fourth term. The two candidates endorsed by the Massapequa Committee for Educational and Fiscal Responsibility,  Dianne Sheffield and Joseph Marsh finished third and fourth. We want to know if you were surprised by any of the results, and if so, what surprised you. Please take our poll below and tell us what you think in the comment section.

joe labella

3:28 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012

Thank You Broke tax payer for your vote of confidence ( joe@autobasecorp.com) My e-mail address is always available if you need to contact me for issues relavant to the School distrct and want your voice heard, feel free to contact me so I can do my duty and share with the other BOE Trustees. Joe La Bella   more ›

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Fisher and LaBella Elected to School Board as Budget Passes

Current Board President wins fourth term, Labella will be newcomer as $183 million spending package is approved.

Voters in the Massapequa School District chose to go with something old and something new in Tuesday's School vote. They re-elected current board president Maryanne Fisher to a fourth term, while electing Joe LaBella to the Board of Education. Both the school and library budgets were easily approved. The $183 million school budget passed by 64 percent, 3,208-1,814. It included a 2.23 percent tax levy increase, which was under the state's new tax cap law. It also included the elimination of 29 teaching positions. The turnout for the election was a few hundred less than it was a year ago. Massapequa Superintendent Charles Sulc said the budget was the result of hard work and appreciated the support it received. "We developed a good budget...…

Dick Blair

8:16 am on Friday, May 18, 2012

The electorate has spoken...those that whine about the results are outside of the main stream...move on or move away. Thanks!   more ›

Massapequa to Vote on Budget and School Board Tuesday

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Massapequa voters will make their decision on the proposed 2012-13 school budget and elect two members of the school board. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Board is guaranteed to have a different look, because one current member Thomas Caltabiano chose not to run for re-election. Incumbent Maryanne Fisher, the current Board president is on the ballot as are Joseph Marsh and Dianne Sheffield, two candidates who are endorsed by the Massapequa Committee for Educational and Fiscal Responsibility. There are also two candidates, Joseph LaBella and Richard Carozza who have touted their business experience. The $183 million budget includes a 2.23 percent increase in the tax levy, which is under the state tax cap. There are no cuts to …

May 15: School Election

Check out some events going on in the area Tuesday

Start your Tuesday with this daily guide, where you will find five pieces of information you should know today, like events happening in town or topics being covered on the site. Have an event or topic that should appear in this column? Add it to the calendar or send us a news tip to Edward@patch.com. School Election: Voters in the Massapequa School district will go to the polls Tuesday to approve the 2012-13 School budget as well as the library budget. They will also elect two Board of Education members and on Library Board member. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. PTA: The Unqua PTA will hold a general meeting at 9:45 a.m. PTSA: The Massapequa High School Jr./Sr. HS PTSA will meet at 7:30 p.m. Concert: The Birch Lane Beginner's …

Weigh in on School Election Issues

Voters go to the polls on Tuesday. What issues matter most to you?

On Tuesday, voters will elect two school board members among the five candidates on the ballot. They will also decide if they want to approve the $183 million budget for the 2012-2013 schoool year. There have been a lot of issues that have been discussed in the months leading up to the budget, but we want to know which ones resonated most with you. Take our poll below and let us know what your most important issue is and let us know why, in comments.

Ralph Nesberino

11:22 am on Tuesday, May 15, 2012

61% of the vote are concerned most about "Administrator's Salaries". That is why we need new trustees. DON'T RE-ELECT// SELECT LABELLA- {{{{{{{{{{{ WHAT A FELLA }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}   more ›

Monday, May 14, 2012

Massapequa School Board Candidate: Maryanne Fisher

A profile of the Massapequa BOE trustee candidate.

This is the fifth of a series of candidate profiles that will appear on Massapequa Patch. We invited Ms. Fisher to submit a candidate video and be interviewed by Patch. She chose not to participate. The quotes used below come from a candidate biography submitted to the Massapequa Council of PTAs for their recent "Meet the candidates night. Maryanne Fisher is a candidate in the May 15 Massapequa School Board Election She has been a resident of Massapequa for 56 years and has two children who've graduated from the district. Fisher is a medical equipment billing supervisor and the current president of the Massapequa School Board. It is her second stint as Board president. She has also been vice president and secretary. Fisher has been a …

rudy 2

11:23 am on Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Time for a change! The good old boy network is over. as a long time resident of massapequa myself, I would love to see my kids settle in here. Problem, How? The taxes are so high and keep going up. Over 60 % is school tax, Pie in the sky for education. You cant fix problems by just throwing money at it.... face it the state is broke and the teachers union and lobby did it. The partys over   more ›

Massapequa School Board Candidate: Richard Carozza

Patch speaks with the Massapequa BOE trustee candidate.

This is the fourth of a series of candidate profiles that will appear on Massapequa Patch. Stay with us for more profiles leading up to Tuesday's election. Richard Carozza is a candidate in the May 15 Massapequa School Board election.  He has been a resident of Massapequa for 21 years. and has three children attending school in the district. He owns several companies which are involved in construction, plumbing, heating, sewer services, insurance and real estate. Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone everyday with our free newsletter. Simple, fast sign-up here.   We recently sat down with Carozza and heard some of his opinions on the issues facing voters. On how he'd make …

Educated Parent

12:44 pm on Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Kids First, do you actually know what Zero-based Budgeting is or how it differs from Cost-based budgeting? That Zero-based budgeting means starting each budget cycle with a zero balance and then analyzing each proposed cost and its benefit before those funds are added to the budget? This is different from making incremental changes to a Cost-based budget, which is based on the previous year’s …   more ›

Weigh in on School Budget Election

The public will vote on the spending plan Tuesday. How are you leaning?

After months of discussions and debate, the Massapequa School District's 2012-2013 budget goes before voters on Tuesday. The $183 million includes a 2.2 percent tax cap over last year, a figure which was under the state tax cap. The district also eliminated 29 teaching positions in addition to administrative and  other staff positions. There has been much talk about the layoffs, the tax cap and costs in the district and we want to get a sense of what your thoughts are. Let us know if you favor the budget, by taking our unscientific poll, but more importantly, weigh in with your comments.

Ken

12:22 am on Tuesday, May 15, 2012

From my standpoint, the administrators make too much- plain and simple. Shame on them. My children have graduated from Massapequa schools. All I want is to see my taxes stay the same. You all can fight till the cows come home, but keep your hands away from my wallet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1   more ›

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Massapequa School Board Candidate: Joseph Marsh

Patch speaks with the Massapequa BOE trustee candidate.

This is the second of a series of candidate profiles that will appear on Massapequa Patch. Stay with us for more profiles leading up to Tuesday's election. Joseph Marsh is a candidate in the May 15 Massapequa School Board election He has been a resident of Massapequa for 12 years and has three children. Two of those children are currently in the school system, one is about to enter the system. Marsh owns a technology and management consulting company and has been a member of the school district's budget and finance committee for six years. We recently sat down with Marsh and heard some of his opinions on the issues facing voters. On his mixed feelings about the tax cap: "The administration is not doing its job. It's incapable of meeting …

cc

1:43 am on Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Tony, you keep posting these figures, but it's rather pointless. The bigger questions you should be asking as a taxpayer and voter are: 1. How is the $183 million going to be spent? 2. How come they are laying off teachers when this town has consistently passed their budget and increased it year after year (you still believe it's the 2% tax cap)? 3. Why didn't the administration make any internal…   more ›

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