The North Shore Central School District received a “clean” financial report as trustees were also honored for their service and students raised classroom and technology concerns during the Thursday, Oct. 23, board of education meeting.
Auditor Alan Yu of Cullen & Danowski LLP told the board his firm issued one of the highest ratings an auditor can give, on both the district’s main financial statements and its student activity funds.
“We are going to be issuing what’s known as an unmodified opinion on your district’s financial statements,” Yu said. “Simply put, it’s a clean opinion, the highest level of assurance that auditors can give.”
Yu reported that the district ended the 2024–25 fiscal year with a $28 million fund balance, including approximately $5 million in unassigned reserves, which met the state’s 4% limit.
“Your general fund is in good financial condition,” he said, commending administrators for “crafting a very reasonable budget.”
However, the district’s school food service fund showed a $9,500 deficit, largely due to increased food and labor costs. Yu recommended the district “find ways to eliminate the deficit” or consider budgeting for a general fund subsidy if needed.
Assistant Superintendent for Business James Pappas said the district was already addressing the issue through price adjustments and state reimbursement programs.
“We have free lunch for all students, which has really increased our sales, the 30% initiative which is giving us another 19 cents in reimbursement,” Pappas said. “All of those things combined with a slight adult lunch increase, that will obviously offset this in the future.”
Student Government Organization presidents Luna Espinosa De Roza and Genevieve Hudin updated the board on several student concerns, including confusion over new Microsoft Outlook email accounts that replaced Gmail for district communications.
“None of us could find a survey because it went into our Microsoft Outlook accounts,” Espinosa De Roza said. “I don’t think a lot of students know that they have access to Microsoft at all.”
They also raised concerns about inconsistent air conditioning and heating in classrooms as temperatures drop.
“Some rooms are very cold and the AC is very hard to control,” Hudin said. She said she thought it may be due to “budget stuff and the money surrounding the heat,” but there is a concern to be on the lookout for.
Superintendent Christopher Zublionis said the district’s new facilities director would investigate. “It’s definitely not a budget issue,” he said. “It might be an electronic control or user issue.”
During public comment, resident Christine Pansaka of Glen Head spoke at length about Propel’s proposed renewable energy transmission lines, warning they could expose families and schools to electromagnetic fields.
“Our community has become ground zero for this overly aggressive, poorly designed plan that sacrifices our homes and well-being under the guise of renewable progress,” she said, urging the district to hire “qualified EMF health specialists and environmental consultants.”
Zublionis responded that no representatives from Propel would be allowed in schools.
“A private company coming into our schools to deliver instruction, I personally would not allow that,” he said. “It will not happen.”
Zublionis praised a successful alumni brunch that drew about 100 attendees.
“It was such a great example of what makes us us in North Shore,” he said, reading alumni comments that called the event “touching” and “beautiful.”
Later, the board was recognized during School Board Recognition Week.
Zublionis thanked the seven trustees for their “tremendous patience, intellectual curiosity, and selflessness,” adding that their work “puts students in the best possible position for success.”
The celebration included a performance by the North Shore High School jazz ensemble.
