Here is the N-SSBA Newsline Newsletter 4/2026

Newsline

Service, Support & Advocacy

April

2026

Our Executive Committee

Our Calendar of Events

Contact Our N-SSBA Staff

Bob Vecchio

Do you have BillTrack50 yet?

A powerful tool to track state and federal legislation, and it's free.

Just email us a request at info@nssba.org to get your link to enroll today!

N-SSBA wants to thank our Strategic Partner Sponsor

Congratulations to the 2026 Nassau BOCES Education Partner

School Board Honorees

Meryl Waxman Ben-Levy

Rosyln Board President

Michael Weinick

Nassau BOCES Trustee

Executive Director's Message

As we close April and head into May's school budget vote & trustee election season, we are still without a State budget. This is problematic on many levels for school districts across the state when it comes to projecting state aid which impacts decisions we make about our budgets.

For the majority of the districts on Long Island who are on "hold harmless" and projected to get the minimum increase as proposed by the Governor of 1% or the possible minimum increase of 2%, this could mean the difference of keeping a position or two or more.

We will continue to advocate with our state officials to get back to having an on-time State budget, or at the very least, agreeing by April 1, what the state aid numbers for school districts will be.

In addition to the State budget, there are some proposed bills that we are actively supporting. We would ask that you reach out to your local state legislators and ask them to support and co-sponsor the bills.

They are A10729 which would require public vote to establish or renew a charter school within a community.

S7788 & A10499 would allow school districts to establish a reserve account for special education costs.

Lastly, S7524A & A8539 would allow school districts to temporarily borrow against reserves to avoid taking out tax anticipation notes (TANS) and helping districts save money on debt expenses.

Hofstra University recently released a study on the financial impacts that charter schools are having on several districts in Nassau County.

This is something we should all become familiar with as charter schools continue to try and expand on Long Island.

Something that was concerning to me in the report was that the demographics of the students they serve do not match the demographics of the communities they are in. They have less ELL and special education students than the home districts they are in.

A big data point that stood out for me was the average amount of tuition charters receive ($25,540 per pupil) public schools in Nassau compared to the average per pupil expense that charter schools spend ($18,686 per pupil). So the question is where does the other $6,854 per pupil go?

This is why the charter school business is growing, for them it's very profitable, with lack of public accountability. Read the report and talk to your legislators about the concerns of public dollars supporting charter schools with no public accountability.

Finally, I want to wish all of you much success on your upcoming trustee elections and budget votes. We know it's never easy putting yourselves as candidates and your budgets before the public for them to vote yes or no, but there is no more worthy cause than being an advocate and steward of public education in our communities.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR OUR ANNUAL BUSINESS & SCHOOL BOARD SERVICE AWARDS DINNER IS

5/18/2026

CONTACT YOUR DISTRICT CLERK TO REGISTER TODAY!

Long Island was Well Represented at NSBA's Annual Conference

At the National School Board Association's (NSBA) annual conference, nearly 60 board members and other school officials from Long Island were in attendance.

Several districts from Long Island also provided workshops to the national audience. Commack, Uniondale, and Valley Stream CHSD, all made presentations to packed rooms, and all workshops were very well received by those in attendance. Congratulations on a job well done!

NSBA's annual conference had nearly 2,500 attendees, and the workshops were very informative and beneficial. Next year's conference will be held in Washington, D.C. on 4/2/27-4/4/27.

N-SSBA Out & About

Below is a listing of meetings and events that N-SSBA attended and participated in:

4/9-4/13 – Attended NSBA annual conference, San Antonio, TX
4/14 – Was a guest panelist for a virtual session for an aspiring superintendent’s class
4/15 – Attended the monthly meeting of the LIEC, Dix Hills, NY
4/16 – Attended the monthly meeting of the N-SSBA Executive Committee, Dix Hills, NY
4/20- Recorded a radio show with the Middle Country SD
4/21- Attended the virtual meeting with Health School Meals NY
4/22- Attended the annual Nassau BOCES Education Foundation Awards Dinner, Woodbury, NY
4/24- Attended the Cradle of Aviation Legislative Breakfast, Garden City, NY

This Month's ICYMI

Three William Floyd High School Students Place at SkillsUSA LI Regionals

Three William Floyd High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) students recently placed in the top two in their respective competitions at the SkillsUSA Area VI Regional Competition at Suffolk County Community College Brentwood campus. With this performance, the students, Jayden Bosman, Ciara Chicaiza and Payton Bianco, have now qualified to compete in the SkillsUSA State Leadership Conference in Syracuse, NY, from April 22-24!

At this regional competition, more than 700 students from across Long Island faced off against each other in various competitions, spanning the categories Automotive Service Technology, Barbering, Carpentry, Culinary Arts, Senior Cosmetology, Job Demo, Medical Assisting and Prepared Speech.

In the Barbering competition, senior Jayden Bosman placed first, with junior Payton Bianco taking second and sweeping the top two spots for William Floyd. In the Medical Assisting competition, senior Ciara Chicaiza also placed first.

These three outstanding students will now compete at the NYS conference in the following categories: Jayden Bosman (Barbering), Ciara Chicaiza (Medical Assisting) and Payton Bianco (Community Service) presenting on the Barbering program’s monthly haircuts project. Twenty-one additional William Floyd High School CTE students will join them during those three days to compete at the state level!

Congratulations to the students and their instructors: Cara Cliffe, Barbering instructor and SkillsUSA advisor; Charlize Gonzalez, Barbering teaching assistant and SkillsUSA assistant; Jason McKay, Medical Assisting instructor; and Dr. Jason Holshoe, Medical Assisting teaching assistant.

West Side School welcomes back students and staff following fire

West Side School reopened its doors to students and staff on April 13, marking a significant milestone just one month after a fire temporarily displaced the school community.

School buses returned, families resumed daily drop-offs and students and staff walked back through the building’s doors, greeted by smiles, hugs and a sense of normalcy.

The day began with a welcome assembly, where attendees applauded the Parent-Teacher Group for its extensive behind-the-scenes support. During the assembly, librarian Ms. Erica Emmons thanked the community for its contributions to a book drive aimed at rebuilding the school’s library. The reopening coincided with International Librarians Day.

“It was wonderful to be back home at West Side School,” said Principal Dr. John Barnes. “Thank you for all the energy that went into making today such a successful and exciting day for our students. I loved seeing people greeting each other this morning and am grateful to our village.”

Superintendent Mr. Joseph Monastero said, “Today marked a truly special milestone with the reopening of West Side School. It was a wonderful morning filled with excitement and positive energy. The enthusiasm in the building was unmistakable and a reminder of what makes Cold Spring Harbor so special.”

In the days leading up to reopening, more than 50 families participated in tours of the building. Temporary learning spaces for the library and creative learning lab have been delivered, with work underway to prepare them for student use.

“It just feels so normal to be back here after being in a new school for three weeks, and normal sounds pretty perfect to me!” said student Leif Koka.

East Rockaway senior presents space agriculture research at NASA-affiliated symposium

Senior Andrew Chen recently represented East Rockaway Jr/Sr High School at the 2026 Growing Beyond Earth Symposium, a collaborative program between Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami, Florida, and NASA. Participating virtually, Andrew presented his original research on growing edible plants aboard the International Space Station to a panel of working NASA scientists.

Andrew's project centered on a question with real implications for long-duration spaceflight: does microgravity affect the edible biomass available to astronauts? To find out, he independently designed and 3D printed a device capable of simulating a microgravity environment, then conducted multiple trials growing arugula microgreens to assess the impact. The judges were impressed by both the depth of his research and his engineering ingenuity, asking him detailed questions about his device design.

Founded in 2015, Growing Beyond Earth is a classroom-based citizen science initiative that advances NASA's research on plant cultivation in space while inspiring the next generation of explorers. The program is now active in 500 middle and high schools across the United States and ten other countries, with students contributing real data to support NASA mission planning.

Andrew joined schools from across the country at the symposium and represented East Rockaway in true “Rock Star” fashion. The district is incredibly proud of his dedication to the scientific process, his persistence in pursuing his research questions and his ability to show his classmates just how far curiosity and commitment can take you.