East Williston School District
The East Williston School District has two new trustees.
Bo Hsu and Nadia Afridi won their elections against Alina Uzilova and Eswar Sivaraman, respectively.
Hsu received 54.8% of the vote and Uzilova received 44.1% of the vote. Hsu will fill the seat held by Trustee David Keefe. He received 1086 votes to Uzilova’s 897.
Afridi received 54.5% of the vote and Sivaraman received 45.5% of the vote. Afridi will fill the seat held by Trustee Tasmin Meghji. She received 1047 votes to Sivaraman’s 875.
Hsu and Afridi had said their platforms were aligned with each other in that they were looking to make incremental improvements to a district they thought was running well.
Incumbents Keefe and Meghji both announced decisions to step down at the end of this term in April.
The school district’s $72.5 million 2025-2026 budget was approved with 66.4% of the vote. The total votes were 1299 in favor and 658 against.
The budget includes a 2.45% tax levy increase, equal to the state-imposed cap of the same amount. It is up $1.3 million, or 1.79%, from the $71.2 million allocated in 2024-2025.
According to calculations made by Schneps Media LI, the district spends $45,029.09 per pupil.
Voters also approved a proposition authorizing the district to transfer $376,876, plus accrued interest, from its 2015 capital reserve to its 2023 capital reserve.
The district has said this will allow it to fund the completion of certain construction and renovation projects sooner and will not cost taxpayers anything. This received 80% of votes, with 1502 in favor and 375 against.
Herricks
The Herricks School District’s $144.5 million 2025-2026 budget was approved with 69.9% of the vote.
The total votes were 702 in favor and 301 against.
The budget is up 2%, or 2.8 million, from the $147.7 million 2024-20265 budget and includes a 2% tax levy increase under the state-imposed 2.5% cap.
According to calculations by Schneps Media LI, the district spends $32,768.81 per student.
Voters also approved a proposition allowing the district to transfer roughly $2.1 million from the district’s capital reserve to purchase new boilers for the community center and high school.
The total votes were 771 in favor and 222 against.
School Board President Juleigh Chin, who was running unopposed, was elected for a fifth term. Chin received 806 votes
Mineola
The Mineola School District’s $112.2 million 2025-2026 budget was approved with 77.9% voting in favor.
The total votes were 560 in favor and 159 against.
The budget is $2.6 million, or 2.41%, more than the $109.6 million 2024-2025 budget and includes a 2.08% tax levy increase, equal to the district’s state-imposed cap.
According to calculations by Schneps Media LI, the district spends $37,981 per student.
A proposition allowing the district to transfer up to $4 million from the 2022 capital reserve to the general fund was approved with 571 votes in favor and 140 against.
The capital reserve fund currently holds roughly $6.4 million. The money will be used to finance repairs to the middle school’s auditorium roof system, baseball field, and entry area to the art rooms.
Voters also re-elected School Board Vice President Cheryl Lampasona for her fourth term. She ran uncontested and received 598 votes. Lampasona has been an elementary school teacher in Woodside, Queens, for over 15 years and has two sons in the district.
