Port Washington school district

VOTING

6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday at Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School.

THE BUDGET

The district proposes a budget of $146,639,452 for 2016-17, a 1.19 percent increase from the current $144,919,392. The tax levy would rise by 0.80 percent, from $128,816,125 to $129,840,471.

This increase is equal to what is allowed under the district’s tax-cap limit, so a simple majority will be required to approve the budget. The district said it could not calculate the amount of taxes the owner of an average single-family home would pay under the proposed budget because Nassau County has not provided the necessary assessment information.

The proposed budget includes a 1.8 percent step increase for teachers. It also includes 11.7 additional teachers and four additional security aides, and would fund smaller elementary classes.

A proposition asks voters for permission to sell a district-owned 5-acre parcel in Sands Point to generate additional revenue.

• District website:

www.portnet.org

THE CANDIDATES

Incumbents Christina Nadolne and Karen Sloan and candidates Emily Beys and David Sattinger are running for three at-large seats. Terms are three years.

Emily Beys

BACKGROUND: Beys, 50, has a bachelor’s degree in political science from New York University. She has lived in the district for 21 years and has two adult children who attended district schools. Beys is a longtime volunteer with several parent organizations that are associated with district schools. She has served as co-president of the Port Washington Parents’ Council.

ISSUES: Beys said she was motivated to run for school board partly because of her experience last year speaking to voters about their concerns while running for North Hempstead Town Board. “I should take what I’ve learned from the past year into the school board,” she said. Beys said she would work to improve communication between the district and the community, especially about state mandates — “what those mandates are and what that costs us in the budget,” she said. She said she can offer a more holistic view as a member of the board, because her two children graduated from district schools. “I could add a perspective that perhaps would enhance the board,” she said.

Christina Nadolne

BACKGROUND: Nadolne, 44, is a dental claims manager who has lived in the district for 16 years. She has an associate degree in dental hygiene from the Community College of Philadelphia, a bachelor’s degree in science from the University at Albany and a master’s degree in education in curriculum and instruction from American Intercontinental University. Nadolne has two children attending district schools. She was elected to the board in 2013.

ISSUES: Nadolne said her work on the school board would be enhanced by her experience serving on the board over the past three years. “I’m at that point of having a great momentum on working on some projects for the district,” she said. She said she wants to work to get “more local control for all the districts in New York state, rather than constant bombardment of state control.”

David Sattinger

BACKGROUND: Sattinger, 53, is an apparel importer with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Binghamton University. He has lived in the district for 12 years and has a son attending a district school. This is his second run for the school board.

ISSUES: Sattinger said he wants to improve transparency in the district, and he would work to make board meetings more accessible to working parents and community members by broadcasting the proceedings on the Internet. He said he wants to find ways to operate within the district’s tax-cap limit without dipping into reserve funds. “We have to create a community-based solution to find a way to come to terms with it and create a partnership with bargaining units to allow us to live within the cap,” he said.

Karen Sloan

BACKGROUND: Sloan, 51, has lived in the district for 20 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also has volunteered on several boards and committees, including as vice president of the Ed. Foundation, a local nonprofit organization. She has two adult children who attended district schools. Sloan first was elected to the board in 2007 and has been president for seven years.

ISSUES: Sloan said her experience would serve her well in a fourth term on the school board. “I have a lot of knowledge on the historical perspective of things that someone new might not,” she said. Sloan said she would be able to help guide consensus in a diverse district. “With all of the mandates and changes in education and the financial restrictions that we have because of it, it’s hard to move forward and you really have to build consensus in the entire community,” she said. “After nine years, I feel like I understand how the community works.” She said she also wants to see through construction that was funded by a $79 million bond that passed last year.